A Time For Tank
by DoveKinkaid
Summary: Tank meets an OC, will they ever be friends? Maybe more?  Can he keep her safe?  Ratings for Language and possible smut later. Heavy Catholic content in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Not mine, I make NO money from this at all. I do like Lula, but I have a hard time picturing Tank and Lula together long term, so I bring you…

A/N: Hopefully leaves my punctuation alone for this repost. Thanks to everyone who pointed out to me that it was missing

A Time For Tank

Someone once said " Though no one can go back and make a brand new start; anyone can start from now and make a brand new beginning"

I heard that quote somewhere, and now it won't leave me alone. I guess it is perfectly appropriate to my life's situation.

It is amazing how much can change in half a year. Six months ago I was a completely different person. I had a different name, I had an identity. My name today is Angela, it was not my name six months ago, and it probably won't be my name six months from now, but it will do. Now I find myself sitting between two USMarshals in the back of an airplane on my way to somewhere. In my old life, I grew up in the Midwest. After I turned 18, I moved around a lot, finally settling inTexas. I had dreams of what I was going to do with my life, but I have long since given up on them. I looked at the men sitting next to me, once upon a time I even thought I would be one of the people sitting on the outside of this situation. Life got in the way though.

This trip has been complete hell. Some genius routed us through Chicago's O'Hare airport. Anyone who has ever flown for any reason knows you avoid that place like the plague. No matter what flight you are on, or how you book it You will arrive at gate AAA, and your connecting flight will be departing in 15 minutes from gate ZZZZZZZZZ, which by the way is on the other side of Illinois. To get there you must descend approximately a thousand miles underground, run across a river of molten rock, climb a staircase the height of Mt. Everest, and swim 5 miles across a lake of starving piranha. Lucky for me, I had the Marshals with me, and we managed this trip in slightly under 12 minutes. Apparently traveling this path is part of the final exam to work for WitSec.

Mostly I wanted this trip to be over because Marshal one and Marshal two never spoke, at all. They gave looks, and occasionally they would open their mouths and something approximating speech came out, but it wasn't exactly English. I rubbed my forehead trying to get rid of the headache that had been building since we got on our first plane at six this morning. I was silently praying that this would be our last flight of the day. I jerked to attention as the captain came on to announce that we would be landing in Newark NJ in 15 minutes. I checked to make sure my seat was all the way up, and that my seatbelt was buckled tightly.

When we landed in Newark, we waited until every other person was off the plane before the Marshals would let me up. We hurried off the plane, and one of the Marshals grabbed my arm, and the other took my carry-on bag as he moved towards the baggage claim area. I tried to stop and ask to go to the bathroom, but I was hurried along and hustled out the glass doors that lead to the parking structure. There was an unmarked vehicle sitting at the curb waiting for us to get into. I climbed in the back and waited until we had pulled away from the curb.

"You guys know this unmarked sedan just screams federal vehicle right? I mean you should really try something like NOT a Ford, or Chevy. I hear Toyota's are nice." I don't know what if any response I expected, but all I got was a dirty look through the rearview mirror. I stared out the window, just watching the landscape wishing I could be anywhere but here. We drove around for hours, about the third time we passed the same stand of trees my eyes started to feel heavy. I must have dozed off because I started having the same old nightmare I had every night for the last six months.

_I was standing in front of Mr. Dominic begging him to believe me, that I hadn't seen anything. I didn't know what was going on. I fell slowly to my knees__,__ my eyes never leaving the gun. I could feel the chill come over my body and I knew in that moment that I was about to die. For some reason I felt calm, as if I were just accepting my fate. I could hear the click of the hammer being pulled back echo through the entire room. I heard the explosion BAM! _I jerk awake suddenly and look around me realizing that the loud noise I heard was not a gunshot, it was the sound of a gate closing behind the car. We drove up a long serpentine driveway. I concentrated on hearing the gravel crunch under the tires as I tried to calm my racing heart. I could finally see the house, and it was beautiful. When I was younger, I used to picture my dream house looking like this.

When the car came to a stop I was hustled past what looked like an army of men dressed in black BDU's and other Marshals into the house. There was a second team of Marshals in the house waiting for us. They started that gibberish code talk with the guys who had been with me all day. I tried to be patient and let them catch up, but I really had to go NOW.

"Uh…where's the bathroom?"

One of the men peeled away from the group and gestured for me to follow him up the stairs. I didn't wait for a second invitation. The Marshal entered the bathroom and checked to make sure no psycho killers made it in before I did I guess. When he walked out I hurried past him and slammed the door in his face. I was willing to put up with a lot, but having company while I peed was beyond even my limits. After washing my hands, I opened the door and the Marshal was waiting to escort me back down stairs.

We walked back downstairs and I was ushered into the kitchen. After I took a seat at the table, the Marshals took the opportunity to remind me of all the rules and regulations I had agreed to follow when I joined the program. I nodded in the right places, and signed yet another form, promising to be a good girl. No sooner had I completed the form than the first Marshal spoke up.

"We have contracted part of your protection out to a local security firm. The team that will be in the house with you will be arriving shortly. Please remember that all of the rules we just discussed are in force with your new security team."

I nodded my understanding and resumed staring off into space. All I wanted was a shower and to go to bed and stay there until this whole nightmare was over.

I rubbed my hands over my face, trying to keep myself awake. I knew I needed to meet the new team, but try as I might; I couldn't get excited about it. I stood up from the table and started to pace around the kitchen just trying to keep from falling asleep. There was a quiet knock on the door that lead from the kitchen to the garage. Two of the Marshalls went to the door as the other two stood back with their hands on their weapons. A hushed conversation took place at the door, and then it was opened and in walked four very large scary looking men wearing all black. The man in the lead broke away from the group and walked towards me. As I watched him move, I concluded that while he may be of a slightly smaller build than the others, he was no less lethal.

He stopped a few feet in front of me and looked me over from head to toe. Normally I am not overly concerned with my looks, but in that moment I was embarrassed of my slightly pudgy body and face full of freckles. After he finished with the inspection, he crossed his arms over his chest and began to speak. "Angie, I'm Carlos Manoso CEO of Rangeman Enterprises. We have been contracted to take care of your safety while you are here in New Jersey." He gestured behind him "This is Tank, Lester and Bobby. They will be the team on the inside here with you." As he said there names, the guys raised their hands in a small gesture so she could tell them apart. Almost immediately after the introductions Carlos walked off with the Marshals leaving me standing in the kitchen with three very large, very attractive men.

I was working up the courage to say something to them when Tank gave a hand signal and Bobby and Lester started to walk away, probably to go check out the house. I didn't know if I could handle the silent treatment for much longer. "Well if I'd known ya'll were going to be THIS boring I'd have asked the feds to bring me a vibrator… you know just to have SOMETHING to keep myself entertained with."

I turned my head at the sound of laughter to see Lester holding on to the wall as he doubled over laughing his ass off. Bobby looked pained, and Tank, well he looked like a Tank, all large and foreboding and not amused. At least Lester had a sense of humor, maybe things wouldn't be so bad after all.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Not mine, I make no money. They belong to JE and will be returned unharmed.

Warning: Adult language. I haven't read past 12, but let's just say spoilers for all books anyway. This is NOT about R/S they may make small appearances but this is Tank's Story.

Chapter 2. Tank's POV

I sat in the front seat of a Rangeman SUV staring out the front window. I hated Witsec jobs; I knew Bobby and Lester felt the same way. Our job was to track down criminals, not baby sit them to keep them from being killed by other criminals. We never got much information on these jobs, it was better that way.

Ranger pulled the SUV into the garage of the safe house, while the SUV behind us parked in front of the door waiting to take Ranger back to the office. We entered through the garage door after exchanging the correct codes with the Marshals on site.

Ranger broke off from the group to approach the woman standing nervously staring at us. As Ranger introduced each of us we gave her a small wave so she could tell us apart. When Ranger was finished speaking I raised my hand and gave the signal to Bobby and Lester to check the house.

"Well if I'd known ya'll were going to be THIS boring I'd have asked the feds to bring me a vibrator… you know just to have SOMETHING to keep myself entertained with."

I couldn't believe my ears. Lula had never been shy about sex, but I never figured this little white girl would ever say something like that. Lester started laughing so hard I thought for a moment he was going to wet himself.

"Santos!"

Fortunately Lester shut up, and he and Bobby headed up the stairs to check the security in place. I crossed my arms over my chest making sure to keep my blank face firmly in place.

"You kiss your Momma with that mouth?"

"I used to" She said as she turned sharply and walked out of the kitchen and flopped on the couch.

'_Damn it!' _I thought to myself. This girl was in the program, there would be no more kissing her Momma, or anyone else she used to know. I really wish I would have kept my mouth shut, I couldn't put my finger on it, but something about this girl really pushed my buttons. I heard the soft click of the door signaling that Ranger had left, along with the Marshals. It was up to me to fix this, and somehow I didn't think Bobby and Lester would be much help.

I walked slowly to the living room and sat in a chair that allowed me to look at Angie lying on the couch. Now I know what Steph was talking about when she said that silence could be loud. The uncomfortable silence in that room was deafening. I cleared my throat, and did my best to keep my voice quiet when I finally spoke.

"I shouldn't have said that, and I'm sorry."

Angie turned her head to look at me and struggled to sit up on the couch. Once she was sitting she was looking everywhere but at me.

"It's ok. Sometimes I forget too. I uh I'm really tired, so if Its cool with you I'm going to go upstairs and try to catch some sleep."

I nodded and started to stand up. "Go ahead, just let one of us know if you need something. The marshals stocked some basics in the middle room on the right."

"Thanks." She took off up the stairs with a speed that surprised me, but I let it go, not wanting to say anything else stupid for the night.

I moved towards the living room window to check the blinds and curtains when I heard a door slam. Shortly after the sound stopped echoing through the quiet house Bobby and Lester rejoined me down stairs.

"Dude… She's crying." Lester told me as he sat on the arm of the couch.

"Aww Shit!" Bobby said. "I hate when girls cry."

"Well hell, don't look at me… someone go fix it." The three of us shared a look, and suddenly there we were playing Rock Paper Scissors like a bunch of Ten year olds. Bobby's scissors beat my paper, but lost to Lester's rock.

"Fuck me. Best two out of three?" I asked hopefully, but the other two were already headed to the garage to bring in out bags. I felt my shoulders slump of their own volition as I slowly walked up the stairs. I moved silently down the hall and stood outside Angie's bedroom door. Sure enough Lester was right, I could hear muffled crying coming from inside. I knocked lightly on the door and got no response. I opened the door as quietly as I could and poked my head inside.

"Angie? Is everything ok?"

I saw her struggle to wipe away the tears as she sat up and managed a raspy "Yeah." In reply.

"Can I come in?" I asked as I moved just inside the door.

"I guess." She swung her legs over the end of the bed and sat there looking at me, tear tracks staining her face.

"I'm really sorry if what I said earlier made you cry." Damn it! Why couldn't Lester have lost? He was good with women. He'd say something smart assed and she'd smile and it would be all over.

Angie shook her head and swung her legs staring down to the floor. "No, I'm the one who should apologize."

I opened my mouth to say she had nothing to apologize for, but before I could say something she continued.

"You know for what I said earlier. I shouldn't have been such a smart ass." I edged my way over to a wingback chair that sat not far from the bed. I lowered myself into it trying not to disturb her, it seemed to me she didn't really expect me to say anything, she just wanted to talk.

"All I can say in my defense is I'm a little edgy, that may be a reason, but it is not an excuse. I just didn't want to be stuck here for a long time with more people who wouldn't talk to me."

I was in shock; her escorts didn't talk to her? That wasn't cool. From what I could gather from the slim information we were given about the case she had been in protective custody for at least a month.

She continued to talk quietly "I should probably get some sleep. I got on my first flight about 6 this morning."

I didn't say anything else as I stood up and patted her lightly on the shoulder trying to comfort her. I walked out into the hall and closed the door behind me as the sounds of her getting ready for bed followed me. I headed down stairs to convince Bobby and Lester I hadn't permanently scarred our guest.

Meanwhile back in Texas the shrill ringing of the phone in the middle of the night woke a very bad man.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Dominic? The girl you are looking for is in New Jersey. She's being guarded by a private company named Rangeman."

"Very good."

"About the reward Sir?"

"You'll get paid when I get the girl."

The soft click of the phone being put back in the cradle echoed through the bedroom as Mr. Dominic smiled to himself pulling the blankets back up for his first solid night's sleep since this all began.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer; Not mine I make No money

A special thanks to FinanceBabe for all her help and keeping me on track with this story. I also want to thank everyone who took the time to review. It helps to know someone is actually reading this!

_I was standing in front of Mr. Dominic begging him to believe me, that I hadn't seen anything. __I didn't know what was going on. __I fell slowly to my knees__, __my eyes never leaving the gun. __I could feel the chill come over my body and I knew in that moment that I was about to die. __For some reason I felt calm, as if I were just accepting my fate. __I could hear the click of the hammer being pulled back echo through the entire room.__I heard the explosion BAM!_

I sat straight up in bed gasping for air, a quick glance at the clock on the wall told me it was only a little after 5 in the morning. I usually slept for another hour or so, but the nightmare had hit me so strongly once again I decided to give up on sleep. I struggled to slip out of the tangled sheets that had wrapped around my legs, after several minutes of flopping around like a stranded fish I managed to get out of bed. I was glad no one was there to see me, it is hard to maintain your dignity when you are losing a battle with bed sheets.

I managed to make it to my bag in the corner of the room with out tripping over my own feet, but it was a near thing. To say I lack grace and coordination in the mornings was an understatement. I dug around in my meager possessions and found a pair of blue jeans and a dark navy blue tank top. Grabbing my clothes and toiletries I shuffled off into the bathroom and started the shower. I stood under the shower trying to wash away the remains of my nightmare. Before I could really relax, I started hearing the sounds of the guys moving around the house. I finished quickly and got out of the shower. I pulled on my jeans and sighed when they were a little snug. I must have gained some weight while I was sitting around, these size 16's were a little loose when I got them, but not so much now. I pulled my shirt over my head and sighed as I looked in the mirror. Most of the time I hated being large chested, but at least it made the rest of me look smaller. I was going to have to do laundry and soon. There was no telling when the Marshals would get the stuff from my apartment shipped to me.

I made my way out of the bathroom and tossed my PJ's on top of the bag in the corner. I looked at my bed and made a face, I had really torn it apart last night. I grumbled to myself before I leaned over and started making my bed. When the bed was made, I flopped down on my stomach and stared at the wall. I was just trying to find the strength to face the day when there was a soft knock on the door.

"Breakfast is here if you're hungry" I heard Bobby's quiet voice through the door.

"I'll be right there." I forced myself to get off the bed and to throw my waist length hair into a quick braid. I heard Bobby's foot steps heading down the stairs. I knew I should probably get a move on before they started to worry. I crossed myself and whispered "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference. Amen" I crossed myself again and forced myself to walk out the door.

I walked into the kitchen to find the guys sitting at the table eating donuts from a box marked Tasty Pastry. I headed to the counter and the empty coffee cup that was sitting there. I poured myself some and took a small sip. I gave Lester a small wave as he grinned and said "Mornin' Sunshine."

I carried my coffee to the table and sat down reaching into the pastry box for a plain glazed donut. I took a small bite and set it down on the napkin in front of my chair. Nothing tasted good anymore, and I was getting sick of fast food. I sat back in my chair and sipped my coffee. Lester turned to look at me and finally spoke.

"I wasn't sure what you liked, so if you want we can come up with a list of things you want to eat."

"What ever you guys want is fine. Nothing tastes good anymore anyway." I just continued to sip my coffee and avoided the gaze of the men sitting around me.

After several moments of silence, Bobby decided to speak up. "There is always someone on guard, and none of us sleep late, but you don't have to get up when we do."

I was trying very hard not to get irritated, they were trying to be nice, but it was obvious that they didn't know what to say to me, and that they really would rather say nothing. "It's fine, I couldn't sleep anyway." I took a large drink of coffee before standing up to refill my cup. I brought the pot back to the table with me and refilled the guys cups with out thinking about it. All those years working as a waitress I suppose. I put the pot back in the machine and leaned against the counter. I watched the guys come up with their assignments for the day. It looked like Lester was on fetch and carry duty. He was supposed to go out and get everything we needed, Bobby was patrolling the house and Tank was supposed to make sure I didn't sneak out. I finished my coffee and poured yet another cup, I was going to have to make another pot.

Lester came over and stood next to me while I started another pot of coffee and leaned his hip against the sink. "If there is anything you need outside the house, just let me know. Think of me as your personal shopper."

I took a deep shaky breath. I refused to cry no matter how much I wanted to. "I'm fine Lester thanks."

"You sure? I'm supposed to get you anything you want. I could get you that vibrator you mentioned yesterday."

I shook my head and stared ahead at the coffee pot. "Anything I want? Well I want to go home! I want my cat, I want to sleep in my own bed. I want my life back!" I spun around to face him my voice getting louder as I did. "I want to go outside, I want to walk barefoot in the grass. Mostly though I want to stop being scared. I want to get up in the morning and not have to be stuck in a freaking prison while the REAL bad guy, the one who just shoots people is still living his life while some dumb ass lawyer tries to build a case! So tell me… can you get me that? No? I didn't think so. " I spun around and roughly grabbed the coffee pot and dumped some into my cup sloshing the hot liquid all over my hand as I did so. I slammed my coffee cup down as I slid the pot back into place so I could run cold water over my now burned hand.

I don't know how long I stood there with the water running over my hand, but soon Bobby was grabbing my wrist and pulling my hand out of the water to look it over. I fought the urge to yank my hand away, and just stood there until he announced that I would be fine. I nodded and lightly shook the water off my hand before wiping it dry on the back of my jeans.

"Thanks." I picked up my forgotten cup of coffee and chewed on my lower lip a little bit not able to look at any of the guys. I just hurried out of the kitchen towards the stairs and yelled to the guys. "I'll be in my room."

I hurried up the stairs as quickly as I could, and shut the bedroom door. I leaned against the door I couldn't help the shaking that started then. I was so tired of holding everything in, and once I let loose on Lester, it seemed that everything else just broke loose. I slowly sank to the floor and pulled my knees to my chest.

I must have sat huddled against the door for quite a while, because when I finally got enough control over myself to stand up, my muscles were stiff. I sat the coffee on a nightstand and crawled into bed. The last thought I remembered as I began to drift off into sleep was I should have asked Lester for a Teddy Bear.


	4. Chapter 4

I looked at Bobby and Lester as Angie hurried out of the kitchen. Her diatribe seemed to take all of us by surprise, Bobby and Lester both looked like they had been hit in the back of the head by a two by four.

"Uh What the fuck was that? Seriously What. The. Fuck. Was. That?" I asked out loud hoping they would have an idea of what just happened.

"I have no idea." Replied Lester.

We all stared at the kitchen door, as if hoping against hope she would come back and explain to us what just happened. I listened carefully, but there were no sounds coming from her room after she shut her door. I hoped she was ok. We had to do something. I pulled out my phone to call Ranger. This job required expert help.

Steph's POV

I watched across the 5th floor as Ranger took a phone call, his back stiffened slightly which meant that what ever was happening was not making him happy. He abruptly disconnected, turned around and stalked over to my cubicle.

"Babe. Need your help."

"Sure, with what?"

"We've got a witness we're doing security for and Tank and Lester keep making her cry."

I rolled my eyes and pulled open my drawer to grab my purse. "Lead the way Batman" I joked with him.

We walked down to the garage, and got into one of the SUV's Ranger was his normal silent self, but I needed to know a few things. "What can you tell me about the witness?"

"Not much Babe. She's about 30, going by the name of Angie right now, no last name. We took over her protection for the U.S. Marshal Service."

"That's it?" I was amazed, I thought for sure Rangeman would have more background information than that. They always knew everything.

"That's all we know." Ranger slipped into his driving zone now that he had passed along the information he had. I stared out the window and wondered what I could do to help. We were driving for about half an hour when I spotted a 7-11. "Ranger you have to stop at the gas station."

"Babe."

Babe could mean a lot of things, but in this instance I took it to mean 'why on earth would I need to do that?' "I need supplies Ranger. Junk food, ice cream, everything!"

Ranger sighed and pulled into the parking lot, he parked the car and silently handed me his Rangeman credit card. I jumped out of the car and hurried inside. I grabbed a small basket, and started loading it up with TastyKakes, candy bars, chips, soda, ice cream, a six pack of beer and other stuff. I made my way to the check out counter and paid for everything with Ranger's credit card. I struggled to get the bags out to the SUV. Ranger met me half way and grabbed the bags from me and tucked them in the back seat. We started driving again, and after about another 15 minutes we pulled up to a gate. Ranger leaned out the window and punched in an impossibly long code and then sat back and waited for the gate to open. We drove up a winding gravel driveway and parked in the garage. Ranger led the way to a door that went into the house. I could hear him speaking quietly with one of the guys on the other side. We walked into the house and I couldn't help but want to laugh when I looked at the faces of the men in the kitchen. They looked a little shell shocked. I pushed past Ranger and started to put the ice cream in the freezer. I know my shouders were shaking as Lester tried to explain exactly what happened this morning. I shook my head as he told us she stormed off to her room. I grabbed a bag of junk food, and headed up the stairs. I knocked lightly and opened the door to peek my head in.

"Angie? My name is Steph. Can I come in?"

Angie struggled to sit up and shrugged before pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. "I guess they called you after I flipped out this morning huh?"

I walked in to her room and sat down cross legged on the bed facing her. "Yeah, don't worry though, They never know what to do with me when I'm on lock down either. Is there anything I can do to help you feel better?"

Angie looked at me and she looked very hopeful for a moment. "Can you find a way for me to have a smoke? I haven't had one since the night before last, and it is making me REALLY bitchy."

I thought about it for a minute, and stood up. "C'mon, follow me." I grabbed the bag of junk while Angie scrambled to grab her cigarettes and follow me. We headed down the stairs and headed to the kitchen. All the guys stopped talking and stared in our direction. I walked over to Ranger and smiled at him speaking quietly.

"I need someone to go clear the garage so Angie and I can go out there."

"I don't think that is a good idea Babe."

"Ranger please… you think I'm bad when I don't get sugar… it's about to get worse."

Ranger raised an eyebrow but nodded towards Tank to go out and clear the garage. Tank gave the tiniest indication of a nod before walking out to make sure it was safe. A few minutes later he knocked on the Kitchen door to let us know it was safe. Angie and I headed out to the garage, and as soon as the door was closed she lit up her cigarette and almost wept in relief as that first drag hit her lungs. She leaned against one of the SUV's and turned her head to exhale trying not to blow the smoke in my face.

"Thank you. I didn't really want to ask anyone to bring me out here."

"Why not? These guys might look scary, but they really are giant teddy bears." I told her as I dusted off a plastic lawn chair and took a seat, setting the bag of food at my feet. I dug out two soda's and handed her one. She reached out and took it with a small smile of thanks.

"Let's just say all my experiences have not been fun." She took another long drag and leaned her head back with a sigh. "I just want to go home. I want my life back."

I nodded and took a sip of soda. "I understand, I tend to collect stalkers like other women collect shoes, so I've been locked up more than my fair share."

Angie looked a little surprised, and she opened her mouth to say something, and then looked like she thought better of it. She gathered her thoughts and finally spoke softly. "Yeah, it sucks. The difference is you got to go back to your old life."

I never really thought about it, but she was right. I got to go back to my apartment, back to my job and to my family and friends. Angie didn't.

"I never really thought about that before. This must be really tough for you."

Angie crushed out her cigarette on her shoe and tucked the butt into her jeans pocket. "It's not fun, and it is making me into a person I don't like."

I could see Tank listening carefully although he was doing his best to be invisible in the corner. Angie continued to speak, it didn't seem like she cared if I was listening or not, she just wanted to talk. " I was never so mouthy. I've talked horribly to your friends Steph. I wasn't like this. I was normal, I went to work, I watched movies on the couch with my cat. I called my mom on Saturdays." She fumbled in her back pocket and lit another cigarette. "The Marshals who brought me here, treated me like I was the criminal. I'm sure a lot of the people they deal with are criminals testifying against other criminals, but I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

I spared a glance at Tank and tried to raise an eyebrow, I wondered if the guys had acted the same way. "Can you tell me what happened?"

She took a long drag and exhaled slowly. " I went to work in the morning, and I was climbing a ladder to train the roses, and that's when I saw the poor woman get shot." She shrugged a little. "Now, if I don't give up everything I am probably next."

I wasn't very big on hugs, but it seemed that she really needed one, so I stood up and gently wrapped my arm around her shoulders and gave a small hug. "I know it sucks, but let's try to make the best of it. Rangeman has offered to buy anything you need and want to make your stay more comfortable. If I were you I'd say I needed some Jimmy Choo's or maybe Armani."

Angie laughed and choked on the smoke from her cigarette a little. I let go of her while she stopped coughing. She straightened up and I walked over and grabbed a TastyKake out of the bag and handed it to her. She took a bite and grinned. We both took a quiet moment to enjoy our snacks. When Angie finished her snack and her smoke we slowly made our way back into the kitchen. Ranger, Bobby and Lester were all in the kitchen waiting to see how things went. Angie seemed much more relaxed as she and I headed to the table where I found a piece of paper and a pen. I pushed it across the table to her and asked her to write down her clothing sizes. I thought she might like me to do the shopping for her clothes, rather than send one of the guys. She wrote down her sizes and a short list of the things she needed that she didn't want to ask the guys for. We chatted for a few minutes before I decided that Ranger and I should probably head out. We said our goodbyes and Ranger and I left.

When we were about half way back to the office Ranger looked over at me and raised an eyebrow with an almost smile on his face. "Going shopping later?" He gestured to the list in my hand.

"Maybe."


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Not mine, I make no money

A/N: Thank you to my wonderful Beta who keeps me going, and to Margret fowler who is always there with a PM when I need an extra push. I have written through chapter 7 so far, and if I get 5 reviews of this chapter I will post 6 with Tank's surprise!

After Steph left, I looked around the kitchen at the guys. It seemed I owed them an apology, and sooner rather than later. I wanted to apologize; I was just having a hard time getting started. I walked to the table and picked up the bag of junk food Steph left behind, and started to put it away in the cabinets. At the bottom of the bag I found a six pack of beer. I pulled it out of the bag and set it on the counter. I lifted a bottle and stared at the label. God I wanted a drink. I don't know how long I stared at the bottle, but it was long enough for Tank to grab a bottle opener from the drawer and pop the top. I closed my eyes as the scent filled my nose. I started to lift the beer to take a drink, but stopped just as my lips touched the top. I opened my eyes with a sigh and handed the beer to Tank slightly shaking my head. Lester grinned and leaned on the table.

"Sure you can. It's 5'oclock somewhere."

I laughed and shook my head again. "I wish Lester, unfortunately I am an alcoholic. I've been in recovery for a couple years now, but no beer for me."

Tank took the beer in his hand and walked to the sink. I watched as he poured the beer down the drain, I wanted to cry. I wanted that drink so bad. Tank reached over and grabbed the rest of the beer and began the process of dumping them down the drain as well. "Don't worry; we'll make sure there isn't any more in the house." He told me as he tossed the first few bottles in the trash.

"That's ok; you guys are welcome to have whatever. Most of the time I'm ok, but things have just been tough lately."

Bobby laughed as he patted me on the shoulder while putting away the rest of the Junk Stephanie had left. "That's an understatement. We don't drink while we're working; besides things will be easier for you if you don't have the temptation."

Tank and Lester both nodded in agreement. "Bobby's right darlin' I've been there. When you're under stress you need to stay away from anything that might set you back." Tank told me as I heard the last bottles clink in the trash. I slowly walked to the table and took a seat and waved for the guys to join me. Once everyone sat down I took a deep breath and looked at each one of them in turn. "I owe you all an apology." I held up my hand to ward off any objections as the guys all opened their mouths. "I'm serious, I need to apologize. I've been a bitch. Nothing about this situation is ya'lls fault, and yet I've been treating you like you did something to get me in this situation. Let me make it up to you. I'll cook dinner tonight."

"Thanks."

"Yeah thank you!"

"Awesome. I'm feeling like steak, and lobster, and…"

"Shut up Lester" Tank and Bobby chorused at the same time.

I couldn't help but laugh as I stood up to inventory what was in the cupboards and started dictating a list. "Lets see… I need a couple packets of yeast, some rye flour, dark molasses, corn meal, some boneless skinless chicken breasts, Corn on the cob." I moved to the fridge and opened it up and sighed not seeing much in there. "We'll need Mt. Dew, can't live without that miracle of modern chemistry. Butter, real butter not that fake stuff, milk."

Lester was writing down the list and looked up raising his eyebrow. "What in the world are you going to do with all of this?"

"You'll see. I also need a couple cloves of garlic, sea salt, black pepper in a grinder, regular Morton's salt, and ummm buttermilk biscuits in a can, Crisco, Some no yolk noodles, chicken broth, carrots , celery, lettuce. Oh and um some Chinese noodles, soy sauce, steak, peppers,"

Bobby cleared his throat and turned around to look at me. "You know you could just do burgers on the grill we're pretty easy to please."

"Yeah about that. I have a thing against eating supermarket meat." I shuddered involuntarily at the mere thought of it.

"Why not?" Tank asked me as I walked back to the table. I sat back down in my chair and made a face. "ugh, do you know what is in that stuff? It is called pink slime; it is the same crap they can take to make dog food. They take it to a processing plant where it is separated into the last little bits of meat, washed in ammonia and water, and then it is ground and can be used as filler in ground beef products. It is in up to 70% of all ground beef products." I shuddered again and shook my head. "No thank you. I'd rather not go there."

I looked at the guys and they were all looking a little green. "Sorry, I didn't mean to gross you guys out. You can always do what I do. Go online and order certified grass fed beef with no preservatives, or additives."

In an attempt to change the subject Tank reached over and took the list from Lester. "How about I go pick this stuff up. I've got another errand to run anyway, so there is no sense in sending Lester to do it."

Bobby and Lester both agreed with the plan and I shrugged. It made no difference to me who went and who stayed. I couldn't have been more grateful to Tank than when he suggested I go out to the garage with him and have a smoke, before he left since they guys were talking and they didn't want me out there unless all three of them were around the house to keep an eye out. I followed Tank out to the garage and leaned against the SUV while I lit a cigarette. I took a deep drag and exhaled slowly.

"Thanks for this" I said as I held up my cigarette just so he knew what I meant. "I appreciate it. I've tried to quit, but lately I'd rather chew off my own arm than give these babies up."

"I understand, things have been tough, but it will get easier."

"Yeah, but when? I just want a place to call home you know? I was saving up to buy a house. Not a big house, just a little place a tiny little yard, but it would have been mine. I know the Marshals will get my savings to me and all that, but that's not the point. I knew what house I wanted, I had it picked out. Now I have to start that dream all over. It's not just the house; it's not knowing when this is all going to be over."

"I can understand that. It must be hard not knowing." He said as he leaned against the SUV next to me.

I was careful to blow my smoke away from him as I responded. "Yeah, but oh well tomorrow is another day right?"

"Right. Try not to get too down. We'll get you through this. Ever play a game of monopoly that lasts for three days straight?"

"Not for a long time."

"You should. It will keep your mind off of things, besides Santo's pouts like a little kid every time he loses."

I snorted and shook my head with a smile on my face. I highly doubted these highly trained bodyguards pouted over everything, but I had to hand it to Tank, just thinking about that made me feel better. I finished my cigarette, and crushed it out on the floor before sticking my butt into my pocket. Tank watched me carefully and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I'll pick up an ashtray while I'm out. No need for you to field strip your smokes when you could just put them out in the ashtray."

"Thank you."

He gestured for me to walk ahead of him back into the house. Once I was inside he nodded to the guys before walking back out into the garage. I heard the sound of the garage door opening and the SUV backing out before the door closed again.

I looked at Bobby and Lester chewing on my bottom lip wondering if either one of them had a suggestion as to what to do now. I really hoped we wouldn't all stare at each other silently for the rest of the day. We must have sat there in silence for a good five minutes before Lester finally broke the silence.

"I think there is a game on."

I shrugged and must have looked less than thrilled because Bobby was soon asking if I was a sports fan. "To tell the truth guys, I don't even know what game season it is. I only watch the Super Bowl for the commercials."

Lester and Bobby both jokingly put their hands over their hearts having a mock heart attack. I laughed and rolled my eyes before walking to the living room calling over my shoulder. "I think Lifetime is having a movie marathon though."

I couldn't help but laugh at the pained groans I heard coming from the guys. "I'm kidding!" I shouted as I flipped on the TV and began surfing the channels finally settling on a TV show about serial killers.

The guys were just coming into the living room as the TV announcer started talking "Tonight on Secrets of The Mind, a look into the mind of a serial killer, could it be something in the brain that causes us to kill?"

I rolled my eyes and settled back on the couch. "No shit Sherlock. Damage to the prefrontal cortex, along with the right environmental factors, and you got yourself a cold blooded killer."

Lester flopped down on the couch next to me while Bobby sat in the chair. "You seen this show before?" Lester asked.

"Nope, just read a lot."

"Your bookshelf must look mighty interesting." Bobby commented.

"Oh you have no idea." I started to laugh, and once I started I couldn't stop.

"What's so funny?" Both the guys wanted to know.

"The Marshals. packing up my bookcase." I was laughing so hard I could hardly talk "Can you imagine? All my books on Killers, forensics, world religions, terrorism, and cheesy harlequin romance novels!" I started laughing so hard I could feel the tears rolling down my face at the idea of some poor schmuck having to pack all that up. 1

The guys didn't seem to know what to say to that, so they just shut up and we all settled in to wait until Tank got home.

1 Please note that the contents of Angie's bookcase are based off of my bookcase minus a few writers' manuals and my husband's extremely complicated Math and physics texts.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Not mine, I make no money.

A/N A special thanks to Joyce on Perfectly Plum for finding the names of Tank's cat's for me.

Chapter 6

As soon as I left the gates of the safe house, I pulled off to the side of the road and called Ella. I had no idea where I could find half the stuff on Angie's grocery list.

"Ella? It's Tank. I need help."

"Of course, what can I help with?"

"The witness we have in protective custody wants to cook dinner tonight, and she gave us a list a mile long. I have no idea where to get this stuff."

Ella laughed softly "Don't worry, I'm sure I can handle her list."

I read Ella the list and waited while she wrote the whole thing down. "Can you stop by the office in about two hours? I should have everything ready by then. I know Stephanie brought back some clothes and things for her too."

"I'll be there Ella. Thank you!"

I hung up the phone and pulled back onto the road grateful that Ella could help. I headed towards the nearest store. I had a few things I needed to make Operation Make Angie Happy a success. I pulled into the parking lot, and got a spot a few spaces from the door. I almost smiled when I thought about how Steph would react to that. She hated it that we always seemed to have parking luck. I jogged into the store and grabbed a cart. I walked through the store grabbing my items quickly. I went through the express lane, and some old biddy tried to tell me I couldn't be there since it was for 20 Items or less and I had 21. I silenced her objections with a look, and checked out with a minimum of fuss after that. I hauled my bags back to the SUV, and drove to my house. I needed to pick up the biggest component of my surprise here. It took me the better part of an hour before I finished this part of the plan. I looked at my watch, and I realized my trip to the store took longer than I thought, and it was almost time to meet Ella back at Rangeman.

I parked in the garage with just a few minutes to spare. I thought I would check with Steph on the 5th floor before I headed up to see Ella on the 6th. I walked to Steph's cubicle and waited for her to notice me.

"Oh Hey Tank. Ella called and told me you were coming. I took all the stuff I got for Angie to the 6th floor."

"Thanks Bombshell. I know she'll appreciate it."

I turned away and headed for the stairs to take me to Ella's apartment. I wondered if the control room called her because she was waiting for me. She gestured for me to follow her into her apartment. I walked in behind her and I felt my eyes get wide. It looked like between the two of them they bought the entire friggin mall. Ella had put all the cold items into a large cooler, and to make things easier she put all the other things into several boxes. There were still paper shopping bags from several stores in the mall where Ella had folded and stored the clothing Stephanie had bought.

"I picked up a few things you didn't have on your list that I figured you could use."

"Thanks doesn't seem like enough Ella."

"Don't worry dear. You just get that young lady out of her funk. She's bound to be having a rough time of it."

I nodded my agreement as I helped Ella load her cart full of boxes and bags to get it down to the garage. I carried the cooler as we headed for the elevator. On the ride down to the garage, I kept thinking to myself that I hoped that Angie was in a much better mood when I got back. Ella helped me load everything into the SUV, and when she caught a glimpse of the supplies for my surprise she patted my arm.

"You are a good man Pierre."

I smiled at her and continued to help Ella load the truck, as we finished she gave me another pat on the arm and told me to call her if we needed anything else. I thanked her once again and climbed into the vehicle.

When I got within 5 minutes of the Safe house I called Bobby to let him know I was going to be pulling into the Garage. When the garage door closed I climbed out of the SUV and grabbed my surprise from the passenger side floor board. I knew Bobby and Lester were waiting for me, so I opened the door slowly and poked my head in. Sure enough the guys were waiting there, guns out and ready should it have been someone else. I raised my eyebrow silently asking where Angie was. Bobby gestured to the living room. I stepped completely through the kitchen door shutting it silently behind me before moving quietly to the living room.

Angie was sitting on the couch completely absorbed a TV show. I cleared my throat to try to get her attention, she waved at me but didn't take her eyes from the screen.

"Angie?"

"Hm?" She looked up and put the TV on mute. "What's up?"

I gently set my soft sided carrier on the coffee table and stepped back a little. "I couldn't get your cat on short notice, but I was hoping my cat might help you feel better."

I think my ears were bleeding from the excited screech she let loose, and before I knew it she had launched herself at me, her arms wrapped around my neck and her legs clinging to my waist. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou! Seriously Thank you!"

I wrapped my arms around her very carefully, I didn't want her to fall after all. "It's not a problem. I just thought it might help."

Bobby and Lester walked into the living room and Bobby coughed a little to try to get Angie's attention while Lester stood there smirking. I saw them standing there over Angie's shoulder. I barely held in a sigh as I slowly let my grip on her loosen even more. "Hey Angie… We have witnesses, I think they are starting to get the wrong idea." She glanced over her shoulder and saw Bobby's knowing look and Lester's smirk. She rolled her eyes and unwrapped her legs and slid to her feet.

"Oh for Heaven's sake you two! He brought over his cat, that is just the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. I think that deserves a hug."

Lester leaned over and stage whispered to Bobby. "If I'd known it would get that kind of reaction, I would have gone to the pound and adopted a fur ball myself this morning."

Bobby chuckled and smacked Lester as Angie walked over to the carrier and squatted down so she could see the cat. "Oh hey there you sweet little thing, you must be so scared. Here you are in a strange place. Don't you worry we'll get you taken care of. We sure will." She looked up at me as she gently stroked the cat's fur. "do you have a litter box and stuff?"

"I'll go get it out of the garage."

She nodded and kept softly talking to the cat. I walked back out to the garage with Bobby as we began unloading everything that Steph and Ella bought, as well as the cat supplies. We dropped the groceries off in the kitchen before I took the litter and litter box into the living room.

"Angie, where should I set this up?"

She stood up and took the litter and box from me. "I'll set it up in the half bath down here. Go upstairs and get one of your dirty shirts please. Bring that and the kitty to the half bath when you can."

She headed off to get everything set up. I ran up the stairs to go get my T-shirt. I wondered what she needed that for, but I did as I was asked. When I came back down stairs I saw Angie coming in from the kitchen with food and water bowls. I picked up the carrier and met her in the powder room. She finished setting up the food and water as far away from the litter box as possible. She looked up at me and smiled as she reached for the shirt in my hand. She set the shirt up in another spot, and did her best to fashion it into some sort of bed. When she was done, she stood up and gestured for me to set the carrier on the floor. "I'm just going to step outside. Why don't you just open the carrier a little so the cat can come out when it's ready."

"Her name is Miss. Kitty." She gave me a blinding smile and nodded. "ok, just let Miss Kitty come out when she is ready. I left your shirt in here so he has your scent while he gets used to the idea of not being at home."

She slowly stepped out the door and closed it part way behind her. I unzipped the carrier a little knowing Oscar could muscle his way out when he wanted. I joined Angie outside the bathroom and shut the door tightly. "I never would have thought to leave him my shirt."

She shrugged as she walked towards the kitchen with me following her. "I just know it helps to have some familiar things around when you get used to a new place. Give him a few hours to adjust and learn that this is where his potty and food are, and he'll be good to go." She moved to the sink to wash her hands and when she was done she started to sort through all the groceries. She laughed when she pulled an apron from the bottom of one of the boxes. She slipped it on over her head and turned around so I could read what it said. Ella had found an apron that read "A good cook is like a sorceress that dispenses happiness." I laughed and went to help her unload the groceries.

"Something tells me you may not have been the one grocery shopping."

"Guilty as charged. Rangeman has an amazing housekeeper, and she was more than happy to help when I called."

Angie laughed and started to put away what she wasn't going to use right away. "I didn't figure you for the cute sayings kind of guy." She pulled the cooler closer to the fridge and began putting away the cold items. As we finished putting away the groceries she started pulling out measuring cups, bowls and some pans. Bobby and Lester must have heard the noise because they headed into the kitchen. "Isn't it early too start on dinner? It's only like 2 o'clock" Lester said as he headed to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water.

"Not really, I need time to make the bread. It has to rise twice, so it takes a little while."

"You're baking bread?" Bobby asked incredulously.

"Of course. It's better for you than the crap you can buy in the store." She turned around and grabbed her measuring cups and started filling them with flour, salt, water, and other ingredients. Once she had everything lined up neatly on the counter she began mixing her ingredients in a large bowl. She stopped about half way through and looked at us. "You three don't have to stand there and stare at me all afternoon. I'm sure you have better things to do."

None of us said anything we stayed silently where we were. She held her mixing spoon in one hand and put her fists on her hips. "I meant it. You boys go find something to do. Now scoot!" She turned back to her bread muttering under her breath. "Now I know why grandma always sent us outside."

I looked at the other two, raised my eyebrow and leaned over to whisper to them. "Scoot? What are we…six?" They both laughed and shook their heads. "I'm going to check outside, and Lester is going to do another security check on the gates."

I nodded and pulled out a chair at the table. If they were going outside, then I needed to stay close to Angie, for security reasons. I watched Bobby and Lester head out for their patrols. I settled into the chair at the table and listened to Angie start to sing softly to herself as she worked.

_It ain't nothin' but a small frame house on an acre lot__  
><em>_It ain't that much diff'rent from any other house on the block__  
><em>_And it may not look like we got all our share of the promise__  
><em>_But at least one thing's for sure, I got it honest___

_Roll out of the sack every mornin', head on down to the mill__  
><em>_Give 'em all I got for eight, 'cause that's the deal__  
><em>_If you'll check out my paycheck__  
><em>_Well, you'll see that there ain't that much on it__  
><em>_But ev'ry single penny I'm paid, I got it honest___

_I never had to hang my head in shame__  
><em>_For puttin' a price tag on my name__  
><em>_Never turned my back on what I believe__  
><em>_Or let my heart be ruled by greed__  
><em>_'Cause buddy if I didn't earn it, I don't want it__  
><em>_That way I can always say, I got it honest___

_Now you ain't looking at some dude__  
><em>_That was born with a Silver spoon in his mouth__  
><em>_And I might seem like some kind of low-life__  
><em>_To that high-falutin' crowd__  
><em>_But I'm plain spoken, straight talkin'__  
><em>_And damn proud of what I have acomplished__  
><em>_Some folks appreciate that and some don't__  
><em>_But, I got it honest___

_Now when I die, I may not leave my kids a fortune__  
><em>_But I hope they know'd my life stood for things that were important__  
><em>_And I'll hand out the same sturdy old values of my daddy and my momma__  
><em>_It made me every ounce of what I am and I got it honest___

_I never had to hang my head in shame__  
><em>_For puttin' a price tag on my name__  
><em>_Never turned my back on what I believe__  
><em>_Or let my heart be ruled by greed__  
><em>_'Cause brother if I didn't earn it, I don't want it__  
><em>_That way I can always say, I got it honest__  
><em>_Friend there ain't no doubt about it, I got it honest__1_

I listened to the words of the song she was singing and it struck me as how appropriate the song was, and how it seemed to fit her. She wasn't exactly ignoring me, but she didn't really seem to care that I was there, watching and listening. I guess she really felt comfortable in the kitchen. I watched as she sprinkled flour on the kitchen counter and started kneading the dough. She reached over and turned up the oven and went back to kneading. She put the dough into a bowl and covered it with a dish towel and set it on top of the stove. She began wiping down the counters and stacking dishes in the sink. When she was done, she washed her hands and gestured to the bags Bobby set in the corner. "Are those the things Steph picked up?"

"yeah. Did you want to take it upstairs?"

"Might as well, I don't want to keep it underfoot."

We each grabbed a couple bags and lugged them up the stairs. I could see a shoe box peeking out the top of one of Angie's bags as I followed her to her room. It seems Steph was determined to make a Jersey Girl out of Angie. We set the bags on her bed, and Angie started pulling out the clothes. She hung up a few pairs of Jeans and T-shirts and reached into the bag to pull out another item. She held it up to put it on the hanger and let out a scream. "WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS!"

1 I Got It Honest by Aaron Tippin


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: It's not mine I am making no Money

A/N: I received another 5 reviews to chapter 6, and a lot of people are anxious to find out what exactly Angie found in the bag. So I give you Chapter 7! Enjoy and Angie and the gang will be back on Monday! 

Bobby and Lester must have heard my scream, because before I could gather my thoughts they were standing in the doorway with their guns pointed in my direction. I clamped my hand over my mouth to make sure I was no longer screaming. Tank turned around and made a gesture to the guys and they holstered their weapons.

"What is going on in here?" Lester demanded.

I held up a tiny scrap of fabric in an obnoxious neon orange and green "What the fuck is this?"

All three guys looked at the fabric and chorused simultaneously "Lula"

"What the hell is a Lula, and why do I have one?"

All three of the guys started laughing and I crossed my arms over my chest waiting for them to give me a straight answer. Lester finally stopped laughing long enough to step into the room and sit down on the bed. "Lula is Tank's ex girlfriend and one of Steph's best friends. She is a former prostitute, who is about your size, and has an unfortunate love for spandex and bright colors. Steph must have taken her shopping."

I bit my bottom lip as I tried to figure out what to say to that. I didn't want to offend Tank; after all he had dated this woman at some point. "I see, well this is really not my color, so maybe I should just put it in the back of the closet hmm? If I ever meet Lula I will have to thank her for her shopping efforts though." HA! That was pretty diplomatic if I do say so myself. I folded the shirt and set it on the bed, and glanced at my watch. "Oh Crap! I got to go punch down the bread." I pushed through the guys and took the stairs two at a time hurrying to the kitchen and pulled the bowl of dough off the stove and uncovered it. I punched down the down in the center before turning the bowl over and dumping out the dough. I worked the dough for a few more minutes before dividing it into two loaves. I set them on a cookie sheet and covered them again before placing them back on the stove. By the time I was putting the bread up for its second rising, the guys had come down the stairs to join me in the kitchen. I went to the fridge and pulled out the chicken for dinner and set it on the counter. "Sorry about running out on ya'll but I didn't want the bread to over rise. It doesn't bake right if that happens."

"Just give us a few seconds to catch up with you next time ok?" Bobby asked as he went to grab a bottle of water from the fridge.

"No problem. I'll try to be more careful next time. Of course hopefully I won't have any more ummm shall we say colorful wardrobe additions to distract me from dinner." I spared a glance in Tank's direction. I hoped I hadn't offended him over talk of his ex and her tastes. He seemed to be relaxed and ok, but who knows. I'll try to get the scoop on the situation from Steph later. I dug around in the cabinet and came up with a glass baking dish and set it on the counter. I grabbed the butter from the fridge and unwrapped it. I set the butter down on it's wrapper and took the package of chicken to the sink where I opened it and began to wash the breasts. When I was done I rubbed the chicken with butter before laying them in the baking pan. I left a couple of chunks of butter in the pan and went to wash my hands. I added some Italian herb and spice from McCormick spices and made sure to get a good amount on the chicken. I placed the chicken on the top rack in the oven and went to the fridge to get a Mt. Dew. I popped the top and leaned against the counter.

"So what would you guys be doing if you weren't here guarding me from the boogie man?" I took a sip of my soda and felt myself relax a little. I could keep an eye on dinner, and have small talk at the same time. It would take a while to get to know each other, but I was willing to make an effort if they were. God only knows how long we could be stuck here.

"We work at Rangeman." Tank said. I just stared at him thinking to myself _"C'mon big guy, use your words…" _ I gestured for him to continue, and he apparently decided to humor me.

"Rangeman is an all around security company, we provide personal security, security system installation and monitoring, background screens and some bounty hunting on the side." He explained.

"Hmmmm Don't you guys have to have a PI license in Jersey to do background screens and Bounty Hunting?" I slapped my hand over my mouth. _'Stupid Angie… Nothing from your past remember!' _

Bobby looked at me in surprise. "How do you know so much?"

I bit my lower lip and shrugged. "That would be one of those things I'm not supposed to talk about. I'm sorry I brought it up."

Lester shrugged. "No worries girl, we've all got things we can't talk about. Maybe someday you'll be able to tell us your life story."

I snorted and rolled my eyes. "Not unless I leave the program, and well I am really fond of breathing, so that might not be in my best interest." Was it just me or did Tank look a little upset by that. I quickly amended my statement. "Not that you guys can't keep me safe, but you can't watch out for me 24/7 for the rest of my life." I glanced at Tank again and he looked slightly less upset, which I was grateful for. I turned a little to see if the bread had risen enough, when I decided it had I popped it in the oven with the chicken and set the timer for 30 minutes. I set to shucking the corn on the cob while talking to the guys.

"So, since you can't talk about the past. What are your plans for when you get settled?" Lester asked me as he lounged in his chair.

"You know, I'm not sure. I really try not to think about it. I'm not sure how long it will be before the trial is over, or where I'll go after here. I mean I wouldn't want to go into landscaping in the north, but I might not want to think about being a pro ice fisherman in Florida either." Bobby snorted as he looked at me.

"Ice fisherman?"

"Sure, you know where you drill a hole in the ice and then sit there for hours like a crazy person hoping to get lucky before your toes fall off. Ice fishing."

The guys all laughed as I pulled out a large pot and started tossing the shucked corn in, once the corn was ready I added water and set it on the stove to boil. I knew dinner wouldn't take too long to finish once the corn started boiling, so I opened the cabinets in search of place settings. I set the table and started whipping the butter for the bread. You couldn't have fresh bread with out nice light whipped butter. Just as I was putting the butter on the table the buzzer sounded to let me know the bread was ready. I used my apron to grab the loaf pans out of the oven and set them on the stove. I turned them over and grabbed the loaves and set them on a plate I had set out on the counter, and took it to the table. "Eat it while it's hot guys. The rest of dinner will be ready soon."

I turned back to the stove as they started slicing up the bread. I opened the oven to check on the chicken. It was good and done, so I pulled it out and set it on the stove while I found a pair of tongs to reach in and grab an ear of corn. It too was ready, so I grabbed a plate and started piling the corn on it. I found a couple of hot pads in a drawer and set those on the table before bringing over the rest of dinner. I sat down to join the guys and silently prayed a blessing before digging in.

Dinner went very well, the guys seemed to enjoy everything I had made. We chatted about different adventures they had with Rangeman, and Bobby and Lester asked me more about the things I had read. As dinner finished, I was hurried out of the kitchen and told that since I cooked, I didn't have to clean up. I was perfectly fine with that, so I asked someone to take me out to the garage for a smoke. Tank escorted me out and we leaned against the SUV as I lit up.

"Angie, I just want you to know you can tell us anything. We would never jeopardize your safety by repeating it."

"I know big guy, It's just hard. I mean how long before I have to say goodbye to you three and never see any of you again? I just don't want to think about it. Opening up means it will hurt more."


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Not mine I make no money.

A/N: Sorry this update took so long. Things are crazy around here. We are trying to get ready to have our first holiday in our first house. My in-laws will already be here, and we want to it to be nice. At this point I must also say HI MOM! My MIL is one of my biggest supporters here on . So just an FYI chapters will be slow until after the Easter Holiday. Hopefully by then I will also be done with my newest project. Mod Podging an old set of bookshelves for my 2 year old. Anyone want to help cut circles? 100 down and 300 to go!

It had been several days since our talk, and Angie was slowly growing used to being in the house, and the uncomfortable silences that had filled the first few days were now gone. Bobby, Lester and I were used to being in one place for quite some time, and we had the advantage of being able to go out once in a while, but poor Angie was about ready to climb the walls. I had to give her credit though, she was doing her best not to take out her frustration on us, but it didn't always work. I paced around the garage speaking to Ranger in Spanish, while Angie smoked what seemed like her second pack that hour. Apparently she smoked when she was bored.

"¡Maldita sea! Debe salir de aquí, fuma tanto estoy a punto de poner arriba sacos de dormir en el garage." 1

Stephanie must have been with him, because Ranger responded in English. "Fine. She doesn't get more than 10 feet from you. No one goes out wearing Rangeman black, none of our regular hangouts, or obvious places. She can't go to the mall, but smaller stores are ok. No more than 3 hours outside the gates, I want panic buttons on everyone, and check ins every half an hour. "

I looked over at Angie who was standing stiffly near the SUV with one arm crossed over her chest holding her other arm just above the elbow so she could still bring the cigarette to her lips. She shifted her weight from foot to foot with each drag as if she could hardly stand still. I turned my attention back to the phone call.

"Thanks Ranger. We all appreciate this. We will call when we leave the gates to start the countdown to the first check in." I hung up the phone and headed over to stand next to Angie just as she put out her cigarette into an already over flowing ashtray.

"Hey Ang?"

"What's up Big Guy?"

"How would you like to get out of here for a few hours?"

"Oh God yes! Where are we going? When do we leave?"

I laughed and crossed my arms over my chest. "We can leave after you are dressed. We'll talk about where to go with Bobby and Lester after you are ready."

I watched her bounce up and down as she waited for me to take her back in the house. I stepped in front of her and knocked before opening the door. She pushed past me and rushed up the stairs. I went into the kitchen with Bobby and Lester, and filled them in on the situation. Bobby was getting the Panic buttons ready when Angie came back down the stairs. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, but what made her even more beautiful than normal was the huge grin on her face. She joined the three of us at the kitchen table and sat, if you could call it that in the chair. She was bouncing as she was sitting there as she waited for us. I handed her a panic button and showed her how to use it. She tucked it into her pocket while Bobby and Lester grabbed theirs before heading up stairs to change out of their Rangeman uniforms. I leaned forward on the table and looked at Angie.

"So where do you want to go on your first day out? Ranger put a few restrictions on our trip. We can't go to the mall, and we can't take you to any of our regular hangouts, but other than that it is your choice."

Angie looked thoughtful for a minute, and I knew when she had decided where she wanted to go, her eyes lit up. "Can we go to Michaels? It's a craft store. I'd like to get a few things to work on to keep me busy around the house."

I thought about it for a minute and nodded. "Sure, is there anywhere else you want to go?"

"Not that I can think of, I just need a few things to keep me busy. I know the risks of an outing and I want to make sure we don't need to go out often."

I nodded and was about to say something else, but Bobby and Lester came back into the kitchen. I stood up to go get changed. Once we were all dressed and ready, we piled into the SUV and headed for the nearest Michaels store. Angie bounced in her seat next to Bobby the entire trip. If Bobby hadn't been in such a good mood he probably would have sedated her, just for a little peace and quiet.

When we got to the store, she impatiently waited for us to escort her out of the vehicle and to the store. She gave the job of pushing the cart to Lester and headed to the clearance rack in the center of the store. She started flipping through books of colored paper; I managed not to groan as she checked out the price tag and muttered "It isn't ten dollars cute." Before setting it aside and continuing with her search. If she kept this up we would never make it out of this store. I glanced over at Bobby who was making our first check in with Ranger. I looked at Angie going through the piles of paper, so far she had picked a few pads that were marked 4.99, but had set aside a large pile of papers she liked but they weren't worth the price in her mind. I touched her lightly on the shoulder.

"Are there any here that you absolutely hate?"

She shook her head "Not really, but even for clearance some of them are marked really high."

I made an executive decision and grabbed every piece of paper on the shelves there and set them in the cart. "Ok, problem solved."

"TANK! You can't do that. I'm trying to keep it under $100.00. That paper alone is probably more than that."

I took a deep breath and crossed my arms over my chest and looked at her standing there with her hands on her hips. "You need stuff to keep you busy, we're getting that stuff today. Who knows when you might get to come back?"

She just threw her hands up in the air and sighed. "Fine. We'll get the paper."

"And everything else you need."

She rolled her eyes. "And a few other things within reason." She moved to the side of the display which held scrapbooking stickers and borders. She chose a few designs and grabbed two packages of each sticker. I gave Bobby a signal as he walked back towards us to grab the rest of whatever she looked at when she wasn't looking. She didn't seem to notice as items were added to the cart. We walked down to the aisle that had glue and Angie busied herself comparing the labels on bottles of something called Mod Podge. I picked up two different bottles of the stuff and studied the labels. It all looked the same to me, so again I made an executive decision and grabbed the biggest bottles of each kind and tossed them in the cart. I couldn't tell the difference, but I bet Angie could. I gave her my best disarming smile as she turned to glare at me. She huffed and moved on towards the paint brushes. She grabbed some sponge paint brushes from a bin marked 20/$1.00. I rolled my eyes as she counted out exactly 20 of them and gestured for her to grab more. She shook her head and waited for me to follow behind her as she walked down the aisle and picked up a few cardboard boxes and set those in the cart. This had to be the most boring shopping trip on the planet. I had pretty much told her she had an unlimited budget, and she was counting out 5 cent paint brushes. I didn't understand her at all. Any other woman given an unlimited budget in any store would have picked out more than one of everything. She was standing in front of a display of different sized letters and studying them as though they were going to give her the meaning of life. I was going to lose my mind as she walked away moving to the next aisle. I hurried behind her. Lester and Bobby took the opportunity to make a selection for her. We walked up and down a few more aisles and grabbed a few things like an exacto knife and a few other things. I think Bobby and Lester were having more fun than she was. They were randomly grabbing pads of paper off the shelves as we walked up and down each aisle to make sure we didn't miss anything. Finally it was time to check out. I did my best to keep her distracted as they guys unloaded the cart. I wasn't doing such a good job. She noticed all the extra additions and crossed her arms over her chest.

"This is way too much stuff you guys. It will take me years to use all of this."

"Then it will take years, but you needed something to do."

She rolled her eyes and just waited for us to finish checking out. The guys put the bags back into the cart and the four of us headed towards the car. I jerked my head up as I heard a suspicious PING. It took me a split second to realize it was gun shots. I threw my body over Angie's and took us to the ground. I had my gun out and pointed in the direction of the shots while Bobby and Lester crowded around us scanning the area for where the shots were coming from.

"Angie, I know it's hard, but in my front pocket is my panic button. Try and push it." I could feel her groping around to find the button and then her hand fall away after pressing it hard against my thigh. I could hear the bullets pinging off the nearby cars, and suddenly a large explosion caused a wave of heat to roll over us and I could hear Lester groan. "Damn Bombshell's luck seems to have rubbed off on Angie."

While we lay pinned down I could hear the screeching of vehicles arriving in the parking lot and looked up to see a Black SUV right in front of us. I managed to get up and grabbed Angie and threw her into the back seat with Cal and Hal. I slammed the door and hit the roof and the SUV sped off to take her back to Haywood to wait for us.

The three of us stood back and waited for the police to arrive, and unfortunately for us one of the first on the scene was Morelli. He slammed his POS into park and stormed over towards us.

"Where is she?"

"Who?" Bobby asked.

"Steph. I heard the call that a Rangeman SUV was up in flames, I know she's involved So where the hell is she?"

I took a step forward and stared down Morelli. "She wasn't here. We were with a protected witness when shots were fired, one of them hit the gas tank and the SUV went up in flames."

Morelli's face went purple. "I know you are lying! You would do anything to protect Rangeman's whore! I don't see a witness anywhere around here."

Bobby grabbed Lester's arm as Joe called Steph a whore. I chose to ignore that statement, as I started to speak. "Morelli, our witness has been moved to a secure location. We judged it prudent to keep the witness safe rather than leave them as a target out here."

"I demand to speak to this witness right now!"

"Morelli, there is no witness here. We will contact the department when we are available to give our statements."

Ram pulled up in an SUV. Bobby and Lester loaded Angie's purchases into the back and then climbed into the back seat. I gave Morelli one last nod before climbing into the front seat and letting Ram take us back to Haywood.

1 Damn it! She needs to get out of here, she's smoking so much I'm about to set up sleeping bags in the garage.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: Not mine, I am making no money. **

**A/N Sorry this chapter took so long. I'm still not overly happy with it, but all my patient readers needed something. This chapter has not yet been to beta, and after she sees it I will replace with the beta'd chapter. Thank you for all you wonderful reviewers. I haven't had a chance to reply individually yet, but I will. **

**Please don't hate me for what has happened to Angie. It really was necessary. **

When we made it back to Rangeman, Ranger was waiting for us in the garage. "What the hell happened?" He demanded.

"Not sure Boss man. We left the house and took every precaution you demanded and more. None of us picked up a tail. We had an uneventful shopping trip, and when we went to the parking lot the shots started." Ranger nodded as though he understood. We said nothing more as he led us upstairs to the conference room on 5 where Angie was waiting. She was sitting at the table with her head resting on her arms. I guessed the adrenaline rush had finally hit her. She sat up and rubbed at her eyes when the three of us walked in.

"Hey. I'm glad to see you guys are ok."

Lester walked over and laid his arm around her shoulders. "Of course we're ok. Believe it or not we're actually used to that kind of excitement." Angie rolled her eyes and shrugged his arm off her shoulders gently. "I'm just glad I got to see you guys before I left."

"Left? What do you mean?" Bobby was quick to ask before I could say a word.

"The Marshals are coming to get me. I thought you guys knew." She looked at Ranger confused, and he gave her a small shake of his head that I took to mean that he hadn't told us anything. "My position has been compromised. Ms. Ella packed me a few Rangeman sweat pants and plain T-shirts because my escort will be here to get me at an undisclosed time, to take me to an undisclosed location where I will stay until arrangements can be made for a more permanent situation."

I felt my heart sink. I knew our time together was temporary, but this was ridiculously short. I wanted to spend time getting to know her better. I watched Bobby and Lester sit next to her and start speaking to her quietly; obviously trying to reassure her that things wouldn't be that bad. I gestured for Ranger to step out in the hall with me.

"Do you know where they are taking her?"

Ranger shook his head. "Not a clue. They are being really tight lipped about it. My contact at the Marshals service sounded like this was not going to be a good thing."

"Damn it! How did they find her?"

Ranger clapped me on the shoulder. "I don't know man. They'll keep her safe though."

"I hope so. Can you have Ella pack the things we bought this afternoon? I'm sure she'll still need something to do. I should get back in there and see if she needs anything."

Ranger nodded and headed back towards his office as I walked back into the conference room. I heard Lester asking her. "No, seriously what was your favorite non cartoon show as a kid."

Angie sat back in her chair chewing on her bottom lip as she thought. I had to give Lester credit; she did look a lot more relaxed than she had a few minutes ago. "Hmm when I was a kid I loved watching Rescue 911. It was so exciting to see how people could survive such terrible things." She laughed and shook her head. "When I went back and watch episodes on the Internet a few years ago I realized that show was an homage to the end of the gene pool that needed a little chlorine." She shrugged. "Don't get me wrong, a lot of things that happened were things that no one or nothing could have prevented. Kidnappings, burglary pure accidents, but other things like Car Surfing, pouring gas on a fire, laying down in the baby pool with your head under water and sticking your hand into the pump. Those things are pure stupidity."

I couldn't help but laugh, and soon I was joined by the other two. We often dealt with people who were not the brightest bulbs in the box, but hearing someone just flat out pointing out the lack of common sense was refreshing. We understood that people can be idiots, that's why we had jobs, but seeing it through Angie's eyes made it seem less depressing. Angie gave us all a grin and kept talking. "Of course I also liked watching Father Dowling Mysteries, Unsolved Mysteries, Magnum P.I., Murder She Wrote and of course Boxing."

"I'm sensing a theme here." I said jokingly.

"Yeah. One day I was going to grow up and work for the FBI." She laughed and shook her head. "Life didn't turn out that way though." She sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. She looked up and gave Ella a small smile as she wheeled in the suitcases she had packed. Ella returned the smile before heading out of the conference room. Angie looked down at her hands and picked at her fingernails, as if trying to dislodge dirt only she could see. "I guess this probably means that I'll be leaving soon." She gestured at the bags sitting near the wall.

Before she could continue there was a knock on the door and Ram came in followed by two very straight laced looking Marshals. Angie took a deep breath and stood up. She hugged Lester and Bobby and then came over and hugged me tightly. "Thank you for all you've done for me." I hugged her tightly and swallowed hard.

"Take care of yourself Angie."

I watched her smile at me before straightening her spine and grabbing the handles of her bags. I was not happy to see that the Marshals made no attempt to help her with her luggage. They just silently escorted her out of the conference room, to the elevators and down to the garage.

Angie's POV

I walked silently with my guards to the garage, and climbed into another Government vehicle. I blinked furiously trying to hold back the tears. The guys of Rangeman had become my friends, and I hated leaving them. I stared out the window not really seeing anything as the scenery passed by. I don't know how long we drove, but I looked up as we drove through a very tall chain link fence topped with razor wire.

I glanced over and saw a large sign that said "Elizabeth Contract Detention Facility". I started to get nervous; I couldn't imagine why I was being brought to a prison. The Marshals parked the car, and Marshal Johnson opened my door and helped me out. He forced me to turn towards the car and handcuffed my hands behind my back. "You are now being placed into protective custody in cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The US Marshals service does not have the man service to provide you with round the clock protection any longer. You will remain in the custody of ICE until which time your testimony is no longer needed."

I couldn't hold back the tears that fell down my face as I was handed over to begin processing. I had never been so humiliated in all my life. I was stripped, searched, and given an orange jumpsuit before being taken to my cell. It was obvious this center was operation above its maximum capacity. I was left in a cell that had three sets of bunk beds inside, there was hardly enough room to walk between them to use the bathroom. I took the only empty bunk and sit down curling my knees to my chest and wrapping my arms around them. I tried to listen to the other women in my cell, but it seemed that none of them spoke much, if any English.

The days in the detention center all started to run together. I couldn't even remember how long I had been here. During the long nights I would lie on my bunk and replay all of the conversations with Bobby, Lester, and Tank. I also prayed for my time here to be over. I couldn't wait to testify, and get out of here for good.

During chow, I got my tray, and found a seat at the end of a table. I looked up to see a woman I didn't recognize sit next to me. I choose to ignore her as I bent over my food trying to eat quickly. The woman moved a little closer to me, which made me uncomfortable, so I looked over at her and my brain started screaming at me to run when I saw the look on her face. She wrapped her arm around my shoulder and whispered in broken English. "Mr. Dominic say hello."

My eyes widened in surprise as I felt a burning pain in my abdomen, once, twice, three times, before my attacker calmly picked up her tray and walked away. I tried to call out to one of the guards, but it was so hard to get a full breath of air. I heard the whistle signaling it was time to return to our cells for head count, I hoped it wouldn't be long before someone found how much trouble I was in.


	10. Chapter 10

A/n: Sorry this chapter has taken so long. Life has been in the way. Hopefully this will be finished soon!

Disclaimer: Not mine. I make no money.

Ever since the Marshals picked up Angie, something has felt off. I couldn't put my finger on it, but something was definitely not right. Yesterday I had finally asked Ranger to look into it. I don't know what I expected him to find out, but I just needed to try something. It took a lot of favors, but Ranger called me into his office and asked me to close the door and take a seat.

"I received a call today, it took some digging and we now owe some very powerful people some very big favors." I knew what that meant. The next time any of the government agencies needed something taken care of Rangeman would be their first call. I crossed my arms over my chest and gestured to Ranger to continue.

"It seems that in a bout of here to unheard of interagency cooperation… Angie has been placed in protective custody in the ICE detenton center in Eizabeth New Jersey."

I sucked in a deep breath and tried to force myself to calm down. I hated the idea of someone as sweet as Angie being stuck in jail, but there was little that I could do. I was about to thank Ranger for getting the information for me when he held up his hand letting me know there was more information. "My contact wasn't able to give me much information, but he was able to tell me that there was some sort of incident at the facility and Angie has been taken to Memorial Hospital in Elizabeth."

I just stared at him. I had no idea what to do with this information. I had no reason to be this upset by what had happened. I had known Angie for a little less than a month, we had no personal relationship. Ranger must have noticed I was unsure what to do with this information because he leaned against the desk. 'I think a little road trip might be in order don't you think? I don't like that they found her on Rangeman's watch. I want to know how they did it. Take Bobby and Lester with you, do what you have to do."

I nodded once. I knew a dismissal when I heard it. I left his office and tracked down Bobby and Lester. I explained the situation to them as we headed down to the garage.

I struggled to open my eyes. I could feel someone staring at me, and it was a very unsettling feeling. The harder I tried to open my eyes the heavier they felt. If I was going to die I wanted to at least see the person who was going to kill me. It was if that thought gave me the strength to open my eyes. While my eyes were still trying to focus, I concentrated on trying to get myself out of bed. My limbs felt heavy, so I tried harder to get up.

"We've got to calm her down! She's going to rip her stitches if we don't calm her down."

I felt a large warm hand envelop mine. "Angie, you've got to calm down. It's ok. You're safe. We're all here."

I laid back down and blinked a few times to clear my eyes. I was finally able to focus and take in the fact that Tank was sitting at my bedside. I tried to talk to him, but there was a tube in my throat that wouldn't let me speak.

"Shhhh don't try to talk. You are on a ventilator. One of the stab wounds knicked your lung. Bobby called for the doctor. We will see if we can't get it removed." Tank told me softly.

I blinked back tears, there was so much I wanted to say. I thought back for a moment trying to remember my American Sign Language alphabet. When I decided I remembered it. I lifted my free hand and started to spell out. "I don't want to go back to jail."

Tank realized what I was doing and snapped at Bobby to get me a pen and a pad of paper. It was just a minute before I had a pen in my hand and a pad of paper resting on my thigh. I tried to write carefully, but it was difficult. I couldn't see what I was writing. I finally shoved the paper towards Tank. He took the notepad with his free hand, as his other one held mine. His thumb was gently rubbing the back of my hand as he read the scribbled note in front of him.

"I know you don't want to go back to jail."

I narrowed my eyes and reached for the paper again. I scribbled another note and handed it back to Tank. He took the note from me, and read it. He looked silently at me for a moment before answering.

"We're here because I had a bad feeling from the moment you left. Something just felt off, so I had Ranger make some calls. As soon as we found out what happened, we headed straight here. We wanted to make sure you are alright, and we wanted to know what haened, so we can find out how they keep finding you."

I reached for the paper again and started to write down my story. I was interrupted by the arrival of my doctor.

"Well, it is really good to see you awake. Do you know what happened to you?' I tried to shake my head, but the tube down my throa made moving difficult. The doctor seemed to understand though. "When you came in you had three stab wounds to your abdomen. One of them managed to miss anything vital, but one of them nicked your lung and the third perforated your intestine. We are going to remove your ET tube today." The doctor pulled a syringe from his coat pocket and attached it to something on the tube and injected it. He told me to cough on the count of three. I did as he said and soon the tube was pulled free. My stomach and throat burned. I opened my mouth to try to speak, but nothing would come out. A nurse came in with a cup of ice chips and handed them to Tank. He fed me a spoonful, and I closed my eyes as the coolness of the ice soothed my raw throat. After a few spoonfuls, I was able to whisper my thanks to the doctor. He patted my hand and said. "I would like to keep you for another 24 hours, just to be on the look out for sepsis." I nodded slowly in agreement and the doctor left the room.

Bobby and Lester moved over to the side of the bed the doctor had just left. I gave them a smile, and pushed the buton to raise the head of my bed. It seemed like it took forever, and I knew that by the time I was sitting up I had tears in my eyes. You never know how much you use your stomach muscles until you can't use them. "I'm sorry you guys had to come all the way out here. There isn't much I can tell you though. I have no idea how they keep finding me. I'm not writing any letters or making any phone calls. I'm tired of being scared all the time. I just want to go home, at least if I do I won't have to keep looking over my shoulder. I'll know I am going to die, and I can just get it over with."

'Hey, don't talk like that." Lester objected to my rant.

"Why the hell not? It is the truth. Tomorrow I am going to get out of this hospital, I am going back to jail, and I am going to be killed. Why then shouldn't I go home?"

"Because you could come back to Trenton with us. Let us find out how these guys keep finding you, and let us keep you safe." Bobby said.

I felt Tank's hand tighten a little, as if he were asking me to think about what they were offering. I felt the tears welling up in my eyes. These guys barely knew me, yet they were offering a great gift. I couldn't say anything with my throat so closed with unshed tears, so I nodded my head in agreement. I hoped that they would understand what I meant. I guess they did, because Bobby and Lester both pulled out cell phones and began to make arrangements.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Not Mine I'm making no money.

I'd been out of the hospital for all of 12 hours now and I was going to go insane. Bobby was dropping by every two hours to take my blood pressure and temp, Lester kept dropping in to see if I needed anything and Tank… He just hovered. I knew they were just concerned, but I was going nuts. I heard a knock on the apartment door and a quick glance at the clock on the wall told me it was Bobby coming in for a vital check again. Tank answered the door and let Bobby in. I shifted on the couch to look at Bobby as he started to walk towards me.

"Seriously? Bobby It's only been an hour and forty five minutes!"

"Well that's because your BP was slightly elevated the last time."

I took a deep breath and spoke through gritted teeth trying not to scream at him. "Bobby my BP was elevated because I was trying REALLY hard not to grab that thermometer and make you an unwilling participant in my experiment to find out if rectal temperatures really are more accurate."

I watched as his eyes widened as the implied threat finally dawned on him.

"Angie, I have to keep tabs on you, make sure you don't start getting septic, especially now that you are eating solid foods again."

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. "Bobby…. We both know that a low grade fever with out abdominal pain and vomiting is nothing. I'll make you a deal. If I promise to send Tank for you at the slightest indication of discomfort will you agree to only take vitals every oh I don't know… eight hours?"

I watched Bobby flick his eyes nervously towards Tank as if asking if that was acceptable to him. I couldn't imagine why Bobby would need to check with Tank, but at this point I'd call and get a permission slip from the Secretary of Defense if I had to. Bobby must have gotten the ok, because I saw his shoulders relax and he agreed.

'Thanks. I really appreciate that you are being careful, but I was going a little nuts."

Bobby laughed and shrugged as if he understood but didn't really care that I was going crazy. He turned to hand Tank some more paperwork that he brought with him. Once that was done, he turned and let himself out of the apartment. I turned and looked at Tank sitting at the small dining table that was close to my position on the couch. " Will you please relax?"

"I am relaxed."

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. "No, relaxed is when you take off your shoes, remove your arsenal, and watch mind numbing TV on the couch in your undies. What you are doing is hovering over there pretending to do paperwork. So just stop it and come watch a movie or something."

I didn't expect him to actually do it, but he got up from the table and came over to sit on the opposite end of the couch. I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing, he might have moved his position, but he was certainly not relaxed.

"Ok Big guy… you are making me up tight, and I'm on a decent amount of narcotics.. So that's a feat let me tell you."

"It's my job to protect you. You left WiTSEC because we promised to keep you safe."

"I respect that, but I am in the most secure building outside of the pentagon. What I need right now is to relax, and unless you tone down the DEFCON level a little I'm not going to be able to relax as well as I'd like."

I couldn't help but giggle a little as he slouched a little one the couch and looked at me as if to say "_There I'm relaxed"_

"Boots." I said pointing to his feet. I just stared him down until he relented and bent over to unlace and kick off his boots. I took a slow deep breath, getting this man to relax was going to be like pulling gator teeth. "Now your side arm." Tank looked like he was going to object, but my face must have shown I was serious because he unsnapped his holster and laid his gun down on the coffee table with in reach.

I carefully slid along the couch to move closer to him. He just watched me for a minute, but didn't seem to be reacting. When I was close enough I leaned over and picked up his gun, popped the clip and racked the slide to clear the chamber before handing the gun and the clip over. "Please… go secure your weapon, and put on something not work clothes. Right now what I need is to feel like I am spending time with a friend and not a prison guard."

I couldn't help the spike of adrenaline that shot through my veins when Angie grabbed my gun, unfortunately I hate to admit it instead of reacting and taking it away from her, I just froze. My body immediately relaxed when she cleared it and handed it back to me. I took the weapon from her my mouth suddenly dry. I had no idea how to react to this woman. Most of the time she seemed so vulnerable, and so alone, but she had just shown me that she could handle more than I gave her credit for. I fought the urge to smirk as she gave me my marching orders. "_What the hell… It can't hurt to humor her." _I thought to myself as I stood up from the couch and headed into the bedroom to change. I settled on an old pair of sweatpants and a grey ARMY t-shirt.

I walked back out to the living room and sat down on the couch next to her. "Ok I'm changed.. now what?" I wasn't exactly relaxed, but if it made her feel better I'd play her game.

Angie grinned at me as I got comfortable on the couch. "Tank, remember I am asking you this as my friend and not as my body guard…"

I nodded slowly wondering what kind of trouble was coming.

"I need you to take me somewhere I can smoke… I'm pretty sure one or two of the guys have a spot off in the corner of the garage."

My first reaction was to tell her there was no way in hell, but I was to confused. How did she know where the guys smoked on break? Hell they weren't even supposed to smoke, but as long as it didn't keep them from doing their jobs no one fussed. "What makes you so sure there is a place to smoke? This is a smoke free work place."

"I could smell it in the garage. Trust me when you need a smoke, you can smell where the other smokers are. It's probably so you know where to go to bum a smoke, but it is the truth."

"I don't think that is a good idea."

I must have jumped about three feet in the air when Angie reached over and grabbed my hand. I wasn't used to something like that. Most women were afraid of me, and when they weren't it was mostly sex between us. Even with Lula, sure we were monogamous, and we went on dates, but it was still mostly sex.

"Please. This is me asking my friend to walk with me so I can go have a cigarette."

Well hell, when she put it that way, what could I do but agree. "Ok, but one cigarette and that is it"

I stood up off the couch and offered her my hand to help her stand up. Once she was on her feet I grabbed her little backpack purse thing for her. She lightly grabbed my arm to steady herself as we made our way to the elevator.

"Brown is going to have a shit fit over this you know." I told her.

She laughed a little even though I know it had to have hurt. "Maybe, but send him to me… I was only half kidding about my temperature experiment." She said with a smile as the elevator doors opened to let us out at the garage.

"Remind me not to get on your bad side."

She just shook her head with a smile as we walked across the garage to where Zero and Cal were standing in the corner smoking. Angie took her purse from me and dug out a pack and her lighter. She took up a 'protected" position between the guys that would allow me to block her from anyone else in the garage. I silently raised an eyebrow as she did this. I know she did it to make me feel better.

Cal and Zero looked at Angie and then back me with questions in their eyes. They knew better than to ask though. Cal lit Angie's Cigarette when her lighter wouldn't work. She gave him a appreciative smile and took a long drag closing her eyes.

"Oh God… I needed this. Thank you for bringing me down here Tank."

I just nodded at her. The guys didn't need to see me chatting away like a village gossip. Angie turned so her back was to me and took a step back in my direction so she could see the guys. I could tell she wanted to say something to them, so I thought I would take pity on her and introduce them.

"Angie, this is Zero and Cal. Guys this is Angie." God bless Angie, she never even batted an eye she just offered the guys her hand as she was introduced telling them she was glad to meet them. Even Steph was at least a little afraid of us when she first met us. Cal and Zero shook her hand, but didn't say much in return. Not that I could blame them. I'm sure it was slightly uncomfortable trying to smoke with one of their bosses standing right there. Angie didn't seem bothered by the uncomfortable silence. She just finished her smoke and put it out before dropping it into the coffee can that served as an ashtray out here.

"Bye guys!" Angie said to the two of them as she took my arm and we started our trip back to the elevator.

When we got back to the apartment she went to the kitchen and washed her hands. I helped her back to the couch and got her settled before I took my spot on the couch. She picked up the remote and turned on the TV. I had left it on ESPN and she made a face, but didn't comment as she started flipping through the channels. She finally stopped on the SyFy channel, they had some sort of disaster movie marathon on. I laughed to myself as we started watching _Atomic Twister. _It had to be the cheesiest disaster movie I had ever seen, and I'd seen some pretty bad ones. About half way through the movie Angie laid down using my leg as her pillow. I just let her, after all she needed the rest, before the movie was over, I could hear the deep even breathing that told me she had fallen asleep. I didn't want to wake her up, so I just settled back against the couch to watch a little TV.

I must have dozed off as well, because I woke up to Bobby standing in my living room grinning like an idiot. I gestured for hi to be quiet as I carefully lifted Angie so I could get off the couch. Once I had gotten to my feet I lifted Angie off the couch so I could carry her to bed. I took her in the bedroom and got her settled into bed. She was so tired she didn't even stir. I went back into the living room only to find that Lester had joined Bobby.

"You two looked pretty cozy when I came in." Bobby said still grinning.

"What did I miss?' asked Lester as he took a seat on the couch.

"You should have seen it Les. Tank was sleeping sitting there on the couch with Angie passed out in his lap."

Lester raised an eyebrow and looked at me as I headed towards the kitchen to get a bottle of water. "You sure it's a good idea to get involved Tank?"

I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and looked over the counter that separated the living room and kitchen at Lester. "I'm not getting involved Les. She just needed a friend. She's had it pretty rough lately."

Bobby didn't look convinced. "Isn't that pretty much the same thing Ranger said about Bombshell?"

"Shut up Bobby. This is a completely different situation." I told him.

"Yeah Bobby, this is sooooo different, Bomber was a little white girl in over her head in dealing with criminals and killers, and Angie is…" Lester trailed off looking at me pointedly.

I shrugged off the implication. This was a completely different situation…Wasn't it?


	12. Chapter 12

I woke to the sound of voices in the living room, it sounded like Bobby and Lester had stopped by again. I groaned softly as I forced myself to a sitting position and slid out of bed. I shuffled to the living room and saw Lester sitting in the recliner, and Bobby and Tank were on the couch. I made my way over to the couch and sat down on the floor at Tank's feet. I laid my head on Tanks knee and covered my mouth to hide a yawn. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Nothing, just checking up on you." Lester told me, but Bobby and Tank were curiously quiet.

"I'm still breathing." I lifted my head to look at Bobby. "You here to take vitals again?"

"I wasn't, but since you mention it I will now." he said as he ruffled my hair a little.

I stuck out my tongue at him before covering my mouth in another yawn. I stuck my arm out waiting for Bobby to take my blood pressure. He wrapped the cuff around my arm and I yelped when he put the cold stethoscope against my arm. "Warm it up first geeze."

Bobby laughed and took the stethoscope and breathed on it to warm it up a little before putting it back on my arm. I closed my eyes and just relaxed. Bobby took my pressure and muttered something to himself and started taking my blood pressure again.

"Is there something wrong?" Tank asked from above me.

Bobby looked up at Tank as he un did the cuff. "Her blood pressure is a little low."

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, I normally run a little low. Somewhere about 90 over 60 or so."

Bobby nodded his head and looked back at Tank. "She's fine."

"She is right here you know. Of course I am fine." I lifted my head and looked at Tank. "I always said if it wasn't for the Mt. Dew and cigarettes I wouldn't have a blood pressure at all."

All three of the guys managed a small laugh. I looked over at Lester. "So, does any one have any bright ideas on how we are going to find the guys who are out to kill me?"

Tank reached down and placed his fingers under my chin to lift my head to look at him. "Let us worry about that. We aren't going to be doing much until you are all healed up."

"Ok, after all you guys are the experts."

"That's right, we are. Now why don't you come sit up here?" Tank patted the couch beside him, and reached down to help me up.

I got up with the help of Tank and curled up on the couch next to him and rested my head on his shoulder. Bobby looked over at us and Lester leaned forward to look at Tank. "You were saying earlier?"

"Shut up Lester."

"Boys, play nice." I said on another yawn. I was just so tired tonight. Tank finally took pity on me and kicked Bobby and Lester out for the night. After the guys left, Tank gently shook my shoulder. "C'mon, lets get you to bed."

"I'm ok. I'm perfectly comfortable right here." I said with a small smile.

"I'm sure you are, but it is getting late. You need to get some sleep."

"Fine." I sighed and started to lever myself up off the couch, Tank was right there to help me up. He wrapped an arm around my waist and walked me slowly into the bedroom. He helped me lay down in bed. I scooted over and snuggled under the covers. "Tank?"

"What?"

"Stay and talk with me."

"I don't think that is such a good idea."

"Please?"

Tank sat down on the edge of the bed with a soft sigh. " What did you want to talk about?"

"I don't know. Anything. I'm just not ready to go back to sleep yet."

Tank took a deep breath and scooted a little closer. "Why don't you tell me about your life before all of this."

I yawned a little and covered my mouth as I look at him. "It wasn't all that special. All I wanted to do was to save up, and buy a little house. Just have a little place to call my own. I was working as a landscaper when all of this happened. The only reason I saw anything was, I had climbed up on the ladder to train some roses on a trellis. The funny thing is I was supposed to have the day off, but one of the guys on the crew got sick, so I came in to help out. I was also taking classes online at night. I liked going to school, but I was failing my foreign language miserably." I smiled a little.

Tank smiled and lightly patted my arm. "What language where you studying? I bet there is someone around here who could probably help you out."

I shook my head with a grin and shifted a little closer to Tank. "I was taking Arabic. It was required for my degree."

Tank raised an eyebrow. "What degree was that?"

I couldn't help but laugh a little which made me wince. Laughing was hell on the ab muscles. "I was going for a degree in Homeland Security. I worked as a background screener for a while, and went into being a Security Officer, and I liked it. I just wanted to work more on the consulting side. I wanted to do the penetration tests and that sort of thing. I didn't want to be a gate guard my whole life."

"So why go into landscaping?" He asked.

"The security job I was working was shift work, and I was too damn tired to even think about going to school, and the pay sucked, so I quit. I went into landscaping because I'm a farmers daughter and I know how to grow things."

"A farmers daughter huh?" Tank said with a grin and wiggled his eyebrows.

I rolled my eyes and sat up a little in bed as I noticed Tank was starting to look tired. "Tank, you look exhausted. Why don't you sleep in your own bed tonight. I'll take the couch."

He shook his head. "My mama would kick my ass if she ever found out I let a Lady sleep on the couch."

I couldn't help the giggle that escaped my lips at that idea. "Tank, you are absolutely not couch sized. You won't be comfortable, and I won't sleep well knowing that. So let's compromise." I lifted the blankets and patted the bed. "There is room for two of us. Let's get some sleep."

Tank looked like he was going to argue, but in the end he pulled off his t-shirt and crawled into bed. I rolled over on my side and snuggled into the most comfortable bed I'd slept in in a long time.

At some point in the middle of the night I ended up snuggled against Tank's side with my head resting on his shoulder and my leg draped over his stomach. This is how we woke up when Tank's phone started beeping with an incoming text message. Tank reached over and grabbed the phone and flipped it open to read the message. I shifted away from him to allow him to get out of bed.

"Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, I'm just late getting down to the gym."

I nodded and pulled the blankets a little higher trying not to look obvious as I watched Tank move around the bedroom. I had to admit, looking at that man shirtless was a great way to start the morning. I just laid in bed until I heard the door shut behind Tank. I crawled out of bed and headed to the bathroom. I managed to get pretty cleaned up with a wet rag, but I really wished I could take a shower. After I got cleaned up I went to the closet where Ella had put my clothes, and tried to find something to wear. I finally settled on a T-shirt and an old ratty pair of jeans.

While Tank was at the gym I made the bed, and picked up the rest of the apartment. I dug around in the kitchen and started setting out things to make for breakfast. I hoped that the guys came up with a plan to catch the people out to kill me, and soon.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N Sorry this is another short chapter. The next one will be longer I promise. If I get 5 reviews I'll post chapter 14.

Disclaimer: Not mine I make no money

When I walked into the gym, Bobby and Lester were waiting right by the door for me. I just stared at them not saying a word. I wasn't going to give them anything. They had given me their opinion last night, and I didn't need to hear it again. They had a point. Angie was getting much to close to me. I didn't let those two in on my thoughts as we headed started running on the track.

As we started our cool down stretches, I decided it was time to start putting at least part of my plan into place.

"Bobby, is Angie ok to stay by herself at night now?"

Bobby looked at me as he stood up and started stretching his upper body. "She should be. Why?"

"I just think it is time to start focusing on getting her life back for her."

Lester looked like he didn't believe a word I was saying but he wisely kept his mouth shut. We finished up our work out and after hitting the showers we all went upstairs to check on Angie. I figured she had gone back to sleep after I left. A quick glance at my watch told me it was only a little after 6 am.

I opened the door as quietly as I could so that we wouldn't wake her, but before I was even halfway through the door Angie called out from the kitchen.

"If you need to shower make it quick, I've got breakfast on."

I walked in and let Bobby and Lester follow me. "They followed me home can we keep them?"

Angie turned around and looked at the three of us and put her hands on her hips. "Well I suppose, after all if it wasn't for your habit of picking up strays I wouldn't be here. Have a seat guys, and give me a minute."

She turned around and started moving pans around on the stove, we all took a seat at the table. Angie was moving around the kitchen getting plates, and silverware. She came over and set the table before turning around to go back to the kitchen. Lester turned to watch Angie moving about the kitchen. "Hey Ang, I hear your stuff is being delivered to a storage place here in Trenton today."

She put several slices of the French toast on a plate and brought it over to the table with syrup and butter. "That's cool. Can someone pick up a key? I should probably leave it in storage for now, at least until we can figure out what is going to happen next."

She headed back to the kitchen and I got up to follow her. I knew all of this had to be getting to her, and I wanted to help. "You know Angie, I can move some of my stuff to the house, and you can move your things in here. It might help you feel better if you had some of your things here."

She shrugged and piled more French toast on a plate. "No need Tank. I might have someone grab my clothes and things, but other than that there really is no need to un pack." She brushed past me with the plate and walked quickly to the table. "Let's eat before it gets cold."

I followed her to the table and took a seat next to her while Bobby leaned over and lightly touched her arm. "Angie, what's wrong? We thought you'd be happy to have your stuff."

Angie forced a smile on her face and looked at Bobby while she started dishing up plates. "Oh I am Bobby, I just don't want to unpack, and then have to turn around and repack it. After all I'll have to testify soon, and then well who knows, if I don't get killed walking out of the court house I, what move to some little town in the middle of no where to start my life as a Wal-Mart cashier? I'd rather just unpack when I get there."

My heart sank with her words, I knew she was going to be leaving. I just didn't realize how hard it was going to be on her. Us military guys are used to packing up on a moment's notice and heading for places unknown.

Lester grabbed the syrup and poured it over his breakfast. "You know Angie, that might not be your only option. What if you decide not to testify? It's not like they can kick you out of the program now."

Angie just looked at him like he had lost his mind. "Then it would never be over Lester. There is no statute of limitations on murder. I'd be hunted until they finally caught me. Let's face it, it would have been a whole lot better if I had died."

My heart hurt for this poor woman, she couldn't see any way out of this alive. There had to be some other way to make this work. I just couldn't see it.

Bobby sat chewing slowly as if he was thinking hard about something. Finally he put down his fork and looked at each one of us in turn, giving Me and Lester a look telling us what ever he was going to say was going to be a doozy.

"Angie? Is there any reason why Angela Murphy couldn't die?"

She whipped her head around to look at him and he held up a hand to stop any outburst.

"Wait, what I mean by that is why can't Angie start living a life here in Trenton, you know get to be good friends with the Bombshell Bounty hunter and maybe get caught in one of her Stalker problems and die tragically?"

Angie sat back in her chair and pushed her un touched plate away. "Yeah, but I would still have to leave and start over. That's the part that sucks Bobby."

Lester brightened up and leaned forward to join in the conversation. "Not necessarily."

She snorted and rolled her eyes. "Right, I can live right here in this apartment for the rest of my natural life. If that's the plan then Angie doesn't really have to die at all since no one can get to me here anyway."

"No listen, this is probably the craziest thing I have ever thought of in my life. So crazy I'd swear Stephanie thought of it."

"Spit it out Lester" I barked.

"Ok, so here's my question… would you be absolutely dead set against a completely new look?"

Angie just stared at Lester. "What the hell are you talking about? Dying my hair, colored contacts, shoe lifts? I'm a 5 foot 3 inch 200 pound red head Lester. I'm kind of hard to hide."

"Not just the small stuff Angie. I'm talking about letting Brown help you tone up a bit, maybe get a, and I can't believe I am suggesting this, breast reduction, maybe if you want do the cheek bone thing or something, change the structure of your face slightly. It will take time, about a year or so, but by then everyone will have forgotten about Angie, and then you come back as who ever you decide to be. I mean it would be a lot of living out of sight until then, but it could work."

"Lester, that has to be the craziest idea I have ever heard of." she said with a laugh. She stood up from the table and began to clear her plate. She stopped half way into the kitchen and looked back at Lester . "I do appreciate you trying to come up with a good plan though."

Lester nodded and then spoke up again. "You know Angie, you could just marry me and live here forever."

I could hear Angie laughing as she turned on the water in the sink. I decided that this was a good time for us to leave.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: We made it to five reviews. Here is another chapter. Enjoy!

I said goodbye to the guys as they left to head upstairs to go to work. I really enjoyed spending time with them, but I was used to living alone. I needed at least a little time each day where there wasn't anyone else around. I ran my hand under the tap to test the temp of the water before I added soap. I sighed softly, it was refreshing to be up to my elbows in actual hot water rather than the figurative stuff for once. It didn't take long to finish up the dishes from breakfast this morning. Once I was done I was rather at a loss as to what to do. I looked around for a little while and tracked down a paper and a pen, I sat down at the table and began to make a list of groceries for the apartment. I didn't know how long it would take to put this plan of theirs in place, so I started another list of things to have brought from storage.

The day passed incredibly slow. I never realized how little there really was on TV. I must have run across about five different talk shows with absolutely stupid topics. I kept looking, and finally realized that Tank had digital cable. I settled on a country music station and looked around for something to do. There wasn't a whole lot in the apartment. Either Tank was a true minimalist, or most things had been moved over to his house. There were a few books on the shelves, and a number of DVD's resided in the entertainment center. I glanced at the clock and realized it was only 8:45. I settled in on the couch for a nap.

At little after noon, I heard the apartment door open. I sat up slowly and turned towards the door to see who was coming in. Tank walked through the door and looked at me on the couch.

"You don't have to get up in the morning when I do. You still need rest." he told me.

"Yeah I know, but I like it, and I'll get plenty of rest during the day."

He nodded and held out a couple of wrapped sandwiches and smiled. "I brought lunch. I didn't think we had a whole lot in the cupboards."

I pushed myself off the couch and shrugged. "No worries, I made a grocery list."

We both sat down at the table and he set a sandwich in front of me, and began unwrapping his. "You don't have to cook you know. Ella wouldn't mind making a little extra. She's already cooking for Steph and Ranger."

"It's ok. I don't mind, it gives me something to do." I shrugged again. I really didn't mind. I enjoyed cooking, and there was nothing I hated more than sitting around with nothing to do.

"I'll ask Ella what happened to all that stuff we bought at the craft store. It will give you a project or two to work on while you are recuperating."

"Yeah. I also thought a lot about it, and if someone doesn't mind going to storage, I could use a few things from there too." I said before taking a bite of lunch. This was really good. I might have to change my mind about letting Ella cook once in a while. If she could do this with a simple turkey sandwich, I wondered what she could do with a complete meal.

"Of course someone can run by storage. Angie, we want you to be as comfortable here as possible. Don't be afraid to ask us for something, most of the time we actually look forward to an excuse to get out of the office."

I laughed, but I could understand. I wasn't a huge fan of being cooped up inside all day myself. "I can understand that. I'm not a huge fan of being stuck inside all day either."

"I'm sorry Ang. I wish there was something we could do about that too."

"Don't worry Tank. Once I've got a few things to keep me busy I'll be fine. Too much longer with out something to do though, and I'm going to start ironing your socks and underwear." I said with a laugh.

Tank laughed and shook his head. "I don't think that will be necessary, but I do understand that level of boredom. I broke my leg the summer I was Twelve. We didn't have cable back then, and the only channels we got on our little TV was the all Spanish channel, the all Jesus channel and the all Jesus channel in Spanish."

"Oh man! That had to suck." I told him trying to keep the grin off my face.

"Oh it did, but as the summer went on I learned Spanish. Those Spanish soap operas are pretty steamy.' he told me laughing.

I just shook my head and laughed. "Yeah they can get pretty racy. When I was a teenager I moved to Florida and until our cable got turned on that was about all there was to watch for us too, unfortunately I never got fluent in Spanish, so I was always at least a little lost."

Tank smiled sympathetically. "yeah it can be tough to follow a native speaker when they really get going. I still have to focus most of the time when Ranger and Lester start arguing."

"I'm glad to know I'm not the only one. I understand just fine as long as you talk to me very slowly and deliberately. My most common phrase is Lo siento, no entiendo. Dime otra vez pero mas despacio por favor." (I'm Sorry I don't understand. Tell me again but much slower please.)

I couldn't help but smile when my admission got a deep full laugh from Tank. I'd never heard him laugh like that, and I had to admit I liked it… A lot.

Tank and I sat there and talked for quite a while, long after lunch was finished that was for sure. My heart skipped a beat when he reluctantly admitted that he needed to get back to work. He did promise to send someone to storage for the things on the list. I stood up and cleared the table while he left to go back to work.

The afternoon was much better than the morning. A couple hours after my lunch with Tank ended, there was a knock on the door. I answered it and found Zero on the other side of the door with a dolly full of boxes. I moved aside and invited him in. He began unloading the boxes in the corner of the living room.

"Thank you for bringing these up here for me. I really appreciate it. I needed something to keep me busy."

"No problem. Tank told me to tell you that if you need any thing else to call up to his office and he'd send someone for it."

"Thanks. You got time for a smoke before you have to be back to work?"

Zero glanced at his watch and looked un sure. "I guess if it's quick."

"Thanks. I could use one, but I don't want to go down there by myself."

Zero just nodded and held open the door for me, and gestured for me to walk ahead of him. I grabbed my smokes out of my back pack and headed out the door. It was a very silent trip down to the garage. I was very quickly learning that these guys didn't say much unless it is absolutely necessary. We walked over to the corner and I leaned against the wall as we silently smoked our cigarettes. The silence was slightly uncomfortable. It almost seemed as if people were wondering what exactly I was doing living in Tank's apartment. Zero kept watching me out of the corner of his eye as we smoked. Part of me wondered if I should say something, but then I decided that if Tank wanted people to know he would say something, besides it probably wasn't smart to go blabbing about who I was. We finished smoking and Zero once again gestured for me to walk ahead of him to the elevtor. He dropped me back off at the Apartment without another word spoken.

I looked at the pile of boxes in the corner, and made a face. It seemed that my clothes had multiplied while I wasn't looking. I couldn't believe how many boxes there were. I decided to ignore them for now, and went instead to one of my large plastic totes with craft supplies. I had to dig for a few minutes, but I did find the sock weight yarn and needles that I was looking for. I settled down on the couch and started knitting another pair of fuzzy socks. For the first time since all of this started I felt truly relaxed and comfortable. I missed being able to just zone out while keeping my hands busy.

At about a quarter after six Tank walked in the door with a pizza in his hands. I finished my row and adjusted my row counter before looking up.

"Hey, how was work today?" I asked as I set my work aside and stood up to take the pizza from him.

"Long." He said as he followed me to the kitchen.

I set the pizza on the counter and grabbed a couple of plates from the dish drainer and handed one to Tank. "You want to talk about it?"

He took the plate and served up a couple slices of pizza and turned around to trade me plates, once he had dished up his own dinner we went to sit down at the table.

"I'm just tired. One of the guys called in sick, so I had to take monitor duty until we could get someone to come in. I don't mind monitors, but it put me behind on the paperwork I wanted to get done today. Just the usual day at work."

"You know you don't have to entertain me in the evenings. You can stay at the office. I don't mind. Or you can bring paperwork home." I gestured to the pile of boxes in the corner. "I happen to have quite a few things to keep me busy."

Tank took in the boxes and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah I can see that. What all did you have brought over?"

"I had my clothes, and a couple boxes of craft items on the list, but based on the number of boxes marked clothes, who ever packed up must have thought all my fabric odds and ends were clothes too." I smiled a little as I said that. "Of course, some of my fabric odds and ends used to be clothes once upon a time."

"I see." he said with a look on his face that said he didn't see at all. I decided to take pity on him and explain.

"I save a lot of old clothes to use as rags, or to cut down and make something else out of."

"What can you make out of old clothes?" he wanted to know.

"I make lots of things. I make crocheted rugs, quilts, more clothes. For example, if you had a shirt that you didn't want to wear anymore, but I really liked the fabric, or the color or something I would take your shirt and cut it down to make a shirt my size. The fabric scraps would then go in my rag bag, or be used to make a patchwork quilt later."

Tank just nodded and continued to eat his pizza. I kind of felt for the poor guy. I did a lot of things normal people thought were strange.

"Can I ask why?" He said leaning forward a little as if he was genuinely interested in my answer.

I shrugged. "I guess I just figure why buy something when I can make it for less. I get a lot of fabric on clearance, and at the good will, so a lot of times it can be cheaper for me to just make what I want."

"I guess I can understand that. My mama is a lot like that, of course she had to be when we were younger. I've tried to help her out, but she doesn't want anything from me. I keep trying to get her to move up here with me, but she flat out refuses."

"I can understand that."

"Well maybe you can explain it to me. I don't understand why she keeps refusing. She isn't getting any younger."

I grinned as I pushed my plate away and leaned towards him. "Tank, parents are supposed to take care of their kids, not the other way around As long as she has a roof over her head, plenty of food to eat, and a little bit set aside for a rainy day she's fine. One day she'll move to be closer to you or one of your siblings, but not until she's ready."

"Well I wish she'd hurry it up already. I worry about her, especially during hurricane season."

"Just give her time. The only thing I've ever known to move a stubborn old woman is grandbabies." I said with a laugh.

Tank laughed as he stood up to clear the table. "Don't remind me. My mother tells me quite often about her desire for grandbabies."

I knew the feeling, my mom used to harass me about it too. "Just tell her the babies will come when the time is right."


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: WOW! Quite a few of you PM'd or left a review wanting Steph to make another appearance. Luckily I had this chapter ready to go. A special thanks to Margaret Fowler for holding my hand through the end of this chapter. This is the last chapter for today. *nods* Yup, see I only cave to the first round of threats to my personal physical being.

I couldn't believe how easily Angie and I were falling into a routine. She had only been living in my apartment for a couple of days, but it seemed like so much longer. Every morning while I was in the gym, she made breakfast for us, and sometimes Bobby and Lester. I always brought some lunch down from the sandwiches Ella brought to the break room, and Angie cooked dinner. While we ate we'd talk. I couldn't believe the things we talked about. I'd told her things I'd never told another living person. She told me all about herself. She was such an incredible person. We agreed on so many things, things I would never expect to find in a woman. After dinner I would catch up on paperwork while she knitted or sewed. I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed as I sat at my desk. This was getting far too comfortable. I really needed to move back to the house, and let Angie have the apartment. I was going to drive myself crazy if I stayed much longer. I was interrupted from my thoughts by a knock on the office door.

"Enter."

Steph opened the door and peeked her head inside. "Hey, I was just checking in and wanted to see if Angie was feeling up to visitors."

I nodded. "Yeah. She's been feeling pretty good. I know she gets pretty bored being home by herself all day. I think she'd like it if you dropped by."

Steph smiled. "Thanks. I'll head down and see her now." She started to back out of the door.

"Bomber, wait. You got a minute?"

Steph looked curious but stepped inside the office. "Sure. What's up?"

"Close the door please."

Steph closed the door and walked over to sit in the chair across from my desk. "Is there something wrong?"

"No. Yes…" I just sighed and looked at Steph. "Look I just need a favor. I need you to kind of feel out how Angie might feel about me moving back into my house."

Steph tried to raise an eyebrow, but only succeeded in raising both, making her look more surprised than curious. I managed to keep from laughing at her, but just barely. "Is it not going well?"

"It's not that. Things are going fine, we have a little routine down and everything its just…" I stopped for a moment trying to figure out exactly what to say in this situation.

"It's just that She's touchy." I mentally sighed. It wasn't exactly what I was trying to get at but it was the best that I could come up with.

"Well I guess I can understand that Tank. I know how I get after only a few days of being on lock down. She's had what a couple months of not being able to do anything or go anywhere?"

I shook my head. "No, not like that. I mean she's always touching me. Sliding her hand across my back when she walks behind me in the kitchen, or touching my arm when we're talking or laying her head on me when we watch TV. That sort of touchy."

Stephanie smiled and I could see she was trying really hard not to laugh. I didn't see the humor in this situation at all.

"Tank, if it makes you uncomfortable, just tell her. I bet she doesn't even realize she's doing it. Some people are like that."

"It doesn't make me uncomfortable. It just…" I sighed and stared at Steph helplessly. I didn't know what to say at this point.

Steph seemed to understand the situation and grinned at me. "I see. The problem isn't that it bothers you, the problem is that you like it. Maybe a little too much."

I just stared at her. That wasn't what I was getting at. "Steph, I just don't think it's a good idea. Angie has a lot going on right now, she doesn't know what she wants."

Steph rolled her eyes. "Angie's a grown woman Tank. You should talk to her. Maybe you're reading into this. Maybe she's just the kind of person who touches people with out realizing it. Or maybe she really is interested in you. Don't make decisions for her though. If you aren't interested in her then tell her, but for God's sake don't lead her on." Steph stood up and walked out the door closing it firmly behind her. I shook my head. I couldn't see what Steph was so upset about.

I heard a knock at the apartment door, so I put down the project I was working on and went to answer it. I was surprised to see Steph standing there, but I shook it off and invited her in.

"Can I get you something to drink? Soda? Water?" I asked as Steph sat in the recliner.

"Soda please."

I nodded and walked into the kitchen to grab two soda's out of the fridge. "So what brings you to my neck of the woods?" I asked as I returned to the living room and handed her a drink before returning to my spot on the couch.

"I just figured you'd be going out of your mind about now. I know the guys are great, but they aren't usually the best conversationalists."

I couldn't help but laugh. "No it's not that bad. Tank and I talk quite a bit actually. Bobby and Lester too. They're usually here for breakfast in the morning."

"Tank talks? Are we talking about the same guy here? Six foot 8 350 pounds of pure muscle, scary enough to make grown men cry…"

I grinned and nodded. "Yup that's the one. We usually talk a lot over dinner. I mean there isn't a whole lot else to do."

" Uh huh" She said as if she didn't quite believe me.

"Speaking of dinner. You and Ranger should join us tonight. I'm not doing anything special, just some chicken, but it would be nice to have someone else around for a change."

"Sure. I'll double check with Ranger, but I'm sure he'll be all for it."

"Awesome." I said as I stood up and walked to the kitchen to put the bread in the oven. We ran out last night, and I wanted to make sure we had plenty.

"You sure Tank won't mind having folks over?" Steph asked as she followed behind me to keep talking.

"I'm sure he won't, but I'll call him real quick to check." I grabbed the apartment phone off the wall and dialed the sequence of numbers to get me to his extension. "Hey, its me. Do you mind if Steph and Ranger join us for dinner tonight? Cool. Would you do me a favor and pick up a bottle of wine? No I'm not drinking it." I sighed softly as he told me he didn't think that having wine in the apartment was a good idea. "Ok, then pick up some of the non alcoholic stuff. I just think good food and good company deserves something nice."

I looked over and Steph and rolled my eyes as Tank and I finished up our phone conversation. "Everything is set. I hope 7 is ok for you guys. That way everyone can have a little time after work to relax before we get together."

Steph just looked at me wide eyed and shook her head. "Damn remind me never to introduce you to my mother."

"Why not?" I double checked the timer on the oven and went to the freezer to pull out the chicken and dropped it in the sink to sit under hot water to thaw.

"Because for years all she has wanted was for me to settle down, get married and become the perfect housewife. If she saw you I'd never let it down."

I turned on the tap and looked at Steph. "I'm afraid I don't understand."

Steph sighed. "It's just look at you. You're pretty, you can cook, you're having a dinner party on short notice. You are everything my mother wanted me to be."

I nodded in sympathy. "I understand, but Steph. Having a career doesn't mean you can't do those things if they are important to you. I mean I used to live alone, so I worked all day and cooked all my meals on Sunday so all I had to do was heat something up at the end of the day." I gestured for her to head into the living room. "C'mon let's go sit down."

As we settled back in I kept talking. "Don't let your mom get to you Steph. Do you or Ranger ever go hungry?"

When Steph shook her head I patted her lightly on the arm. "Then don't worry about it. As long as everyone is fed, clothed, and happy it doesn't matter how you get there."

I gave her a small smile as she actually looked a little relieved. "Thanks Angie. I just wish my mom saw it that way."

"There is always going to be someone who doesn't agree with how you live your life Steph. The important thing is to remember that when push comes to shove they have little to no impact on your life. After all what is she going to do Spank your butt and take away your birthday? I don't know about you but I'd be ok with not getting any older."

I smiled again as Steph laughed. "Enough about me. Tell me how you're holding up and if you need anything."

"I'm doing ok. I've got my sewing and knitting to keep me busy, and the guys make sure to stop in often so it's not as bad as it could be."

"So what's the deal with you and Tank? Everyone is starting to notice that he comes down here for lunch every day."

I sat back on the couch with a shrug. "There isn't much to tell. Tank brings lunch down for me so I don't have to cook. And then since he's here we eat lunch together it's nice."

"And?" Steph prompted.

"And, there isn't anything to tell. When Tank goes to the gym I make breakfast, and then he, Bobby and Lester go to work. Tank brings lunch, and then goes to work. When he comes home we have dinner and he works on paper work and I knit or sew. It's pretty boring."

"Sounds pretty cozy to me." She said while giving me a look.

"I Know!" I covered my face with my hands. "That's the problem! I've only been here for a few days, and we've fallen into this routine like we've been together for years."

"That doesn't sound so bad you know."

"It is when you count the fact that I'm starting to fall head over heels for him." I told her as I rubbed my forehead. "I just keep trying to remind myself that this isn't real. He's here because he feels like he needs to be, and I'm here only because if I wasn't I'd be dead."

Steph leaned over and lightly patted me on the shoulder. "Maybe you should talk to Tank about this?"

I pulled my hands away from my face and looked at her. "Yeah, I can see that going oh so well. Hey Tank. I just wanted to let you know that this living together really has me falling for you, so how about we hook up?"

I shook my head and stood up off the couch. "I don't think that would be a real good idea."

"Ok, so maybe putting it to him that way might not be a great idea, but you should still tell him."

I laughed and shook my head. "What's the point? The reality is that I am going to have to leave Trenton. I mean Lester had a couple of crazy ass plans, but in all seriousness. What good does it do to tell him I care about him if I am going to have to leave after this is all over?"

"I can see your point Ang, but Tank really is a good guy under his tough exterior."

"Umm how about No. I can handle this not knowing, but I don't think I can handle him not being interested."

"Ok, so stay quiet for now. I heard him on the phone with his Mama the other day. She's planning a trip up here to see him for his birthday. It's coming up in a couple of months. How about we call his Mom, and plan a big birthday dinner party. Meet his mom, talk to her and if you still feel strongly about Tank you have to promise me you'll tell him then."

I just looked at her trying to see a flaw in her plan. "I don't know Steph, making plans with his mom? What if this backfires on me?"

"I think you mean what if this backfires on US. Just think, we'll have each other for company and there won't be any hired killers on your tail if he has Ranger send us to a third world country."


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: Not mine I make no money.

I couldn't believe I was standing here in front of this entire aisle of fake wine trying to decide which one to bring home for dinner. Who the hell knew there was even this many kinds. I finally just picked up several different kinds. I figured Angie could make the final call.

When I got home I could hear the Country Music playing quietly, and I could hear Angie singing along in the kitchen. I never was much of a country fan, but I was really amazed at how powerful the right song could be.

"Tell her that you love her, tell her that you need her, Tell her that you want her to stay. Reassure her with a kiss. She may never know unless you show her what your feeling Tell her your believing even though it's hard to say cause she needs to know your thinking of her so open up and tell her."

I walked into the kitchen and cleared my throat. Angie turned away from the stove and gave me a smile.

"Hey. How was your day?" She came over and took the bag of wine from me and set it on the counter. She let out a small laugh when she saw the huge selection inside.

"Remind me not to send you again, or we'll need a wine rack." She said as she selected a couple of bottles and stuck them in the freezer to chill before finding a place to put the bottles she wasn't going to use. When she was done with that she walked past me and headed to the living room to shut off the music. "I do appreciate you going to the store for me though Tank, and for agreeing to have Ranger and Steph over."

I gave her a small nod as she walked back into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and handed it to me. This was another one of our evening rituals. I'd stand here out of her way and chat with her while she finished cooking. "No problem. So how did your visit with Steph go today? She stopped by my office to make sure you were feeling up to visitors."

Angie stirred the rice on the stove for a minute before she looked at me with a grin. "It was a lot of fun. It's been a while since I had an afternoon of girl talk."

"I'm glad, you deserve to have a little fun." I told her as I leaned against the counter.

"It really was fun. I'm not sure Steph enjoyed the knitting lesson, but I did."

I couldn't help but laugh at that. Knitting is not exactly Bombers style. "I'm having a hard time imagining Stephanie knitting anything."

"She didn't do too bad for her first time, she's just got to keep trying." She pulled another pan out of the cabinet and set it on the counter before she looked at me. "Quick question.. You think Steph will eat a Risotto?"

I took a deep breath, and I must have made a face because Angie nodded. "Yeah, I figured she probably wouldn't. I'll whip her up a baked potato."

"Angie." I reached out and grabbed her arm as she was turning away. "You don't have to go through any trouble. Whatever you make will be fine." I really didn't want her stressing out over this. It was just dinner after all."

Angie gave me a smile and moved towards me as she spoke. "It's no problem Tank. Throwing a potato in the oven is really no trouble at all. I actually enjoy cooking for people. I appreciate your concern though."

By the time she was finished talking she was standing right in front of me, close enough to wrap my arms around her. When I did she snuggled against my chest for a moment before pulling away. "I better get that potato in the oven Why don't you go relax for a while. I'll finish up in here."

I held in a sigh as she pulled away. It had felt right to hold her like that, maybe Steph was right. I needed to talk to her before someone got hurt. The problem was I wasn't sure which one of us it would be. " I'm just going to go jump in the shower before they get here."

"Sounds like a plan." She said as she started wrapping the potato in foil.

I left her in the kitchen and went to take my shower, still wondering exactly what was going on between the two of us.

As I came out of the bedroom after my shower there was a knock on the door. "Can you get the door for me Tank?" Angie yelled from the kitchen. I knew she had to be busy so I agreed. I opened the door and let Ranger and Steph into the apartment. Angie popped out of the kitchen with a chilled bottle of the 'not real wine' as I kept reminding myself in her hand. She handed it to me and gave Steph a warm welcoming hug, before doing the same to Ranger.

"Have a seat, dinner will be ready in a few minutes." Angie gave us all a smile before she headed back into the kitchen. I gestured for Ranger and Steph to have a seat at the table. I opened the bottle Angie had handed me and poured us each a glass. I took my seat next to Angie's chair, and listened to the sound of a few pans clattering and the sound of a few dishes clinking together. I was about to ask if she needed any help when she came out of the kitchen with a basket of her fresh made bread and some butter. She also slid a small container of the stuff Ranger preferred next to him.

"You'll have to forgive me for serving that non alcoholic wine to you guys." Angie moved behind me and rested her hands on my shoulders. "Ever since I confessed to the guys I was a recovering alcoholic they've been terrified to allow any of it around. It wouldn't surprise me if they took the alcohol out of the bathroom first aid kit too." She said with a laugh as she patted my shoulders and headed back to the kitchen.

Ranger just watched the entire interaction with a raised eyebrow while Steph was doing her best not to laugh.

"Don't you think you're going a little over the top?" Steph asked.

"Nope. It's better for her not to be tempted with all the stress she's had lately."

"Funny, she looked pretty clear thinking and stress free to me earlier today." Steph retorted.

Ranger just gave Steph a questioning look and she gave him a smile that said she would fill him in later. She picked up a slice of the bread and buttered it before taking a huge bite to make sure her mouth was full and Ranger couldn't get any answers from her at least for the moment.

Angie returned to bring each of us a plate of salad and set down a bottle of ranch dressing for Steph, and a homemade Italian dressing for me and Ranger. " Dinner will be ready soon."

She headed back into the kitchen and Ranger looked at me. "If you're eating like this all the time I think I should probably double your required gym time."

I rolled my eyes at him and dug into the salad before answering. "No need. It's all good for me I swear."

We chatted for a few more minutes, and Angie came to clear away the salad plates before bringing out dinner. I don't know how she did it but she carried three plates on one arm, and a fourth plate with the toppings for Steph's potato in her other hand. She set everything down easily before going back to get her own plate. While she was in the kitchen, she took off her apron and I had to fight not to stare as she sat down. She had chosen a shirt that was a low v cut that accentuated her breasts with out actually showing any skin. It was incredibly sexy.

"So," she said as she took her seat. "I hope you enjoy."

I looked down at my plate, and she had made a mushroom risotto, and a baked herb chicken. The wonderful aroma was making my mouth water. Steph took a bite of the chicken and Ranger and I looked around uncomfortably as she let out one of her moans. Angie just smiled and started in on her own dinner. We all ate in silence for a while when Ranger finally spoke.

"Angie, I heard from the prosecutor today. He said it doesn't look like the trial will really get started until after the first of the year."

Angie took a quick a sip of her wine and swallowed hard. "But it's June. Are you telling me that I have another 7 months before trial?"

I reached over and lightly squeezed her hand. I knew she wanted to get this over with as fast as possible, and unfortunately it looked like this was one of those that was going to drag on for quite a while.

Ranger softened his usual harsh look a little as he looked at her. "Yes unfortunately. I wish I had better news. If you would like we could relocate you now with a new identity, I just don't know how safe that would be. We don't know how your attackers found your location. I do know it wasn't from anyone at Rangeman, but that leaves a lot of other options for the leak."

I watched Angie's face as the reality of this entire situation hit her. I think somewhere in the back of her mind she had hoped she could have her old life back. Her expression changed rapidly from shock, to anger and finally resignation.

Angie sighed heavily and shrugged her shoulders. "You are the expert in what is safest. I'm just going to let go and let God. It will all work out in the end, and if it hasn't worked out then it isn't the end."

I think we were all amazed at how well Angie was taking this, but it was Steph who expressed her disbelief. "You mean that if Ranger and the guys decide that you should stay here in this building for the next year you're just going to do it? How can you stay sane all cooped up like this?"

Angie just shrugged and then gave Steph a small smile. "To be honest Steph, this whole situation sucks. I almost died in that prison, exuse me, detention center. I didn't because it's not my time yet. I must still have something I need to do. If I'm going to stay alive to do what ever that is, then I need to stay safe, and if that means staying in this building and asking others to bring me what I need, then that is what I will do."

Steph looked at Ranger. "There has to be something we can do. She can't live like this forever."

"Babe."

I knew Ranger used that word to mean about everything, and I think in this case it meant that he didn't have any easy answers. Angie took notice of how upset Steph was getting on her behalf and she pushed her chair away from the table and went to squat in front of Steph, making her look at her.

"Stephanie, its ok. I can stay here as long as I have to. I have friends, I have a safe and secure place to sleep. I have things to do. I'm going to be just fine."

"But you wanted to go back to school, you wanted a career, you wanted to do a lot with your life."

Angie looked over at Ranger and me for a minute before turning her attention back to Stephanie.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Don't hate me for the end of the chapter. It will get fixed I promise! To Celebrate the mile stone of 100 reviews I decided to post the rest of the evening from Angie's POV.

It broke my heart to see how upset Stephanie was by the things that I was going through. When she started talking about the things I had planned and the things I wanted for my life I knew what I had to tell her. I looked over at Tank and Ranger. I really didn't want them to think I was some sort of religious nut, but that couldn't be helped.

"Steph, those were my plans not God's. There is an old saying that to make God laugh, tell him your plans. I don't know why all of this is happening, but I just have to trust that it is for the best."

"How can you say that? Especially after all that you are going through."

I looked out of the corner of my eye and saw Tank and Ranger watching this exchange intently. I couldn't tell if this was because they were interested in my answer, or if they wanted to make sure I didn't infect her with my religious craziness. I took a deep breath and just jumped in the deep end here. "Steph if you are really interested in the answer I will tell you." When she nodded I continued talking. "The bible tells me in 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 7 that These trials are only to test your faith, to show that it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold, and your faith is more precious to God than mere gold. So if your faith remains strong after being tried by fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and honor and glory on the day that Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. That doesn't mean I don't get angry about it though. I figure if you want to be angry at God it means you have to believe he exists right?" I said with a small laugh.

I lightly hugged Steph's shoulders as I stood up. "Steph, I don't want you to worry for me. I'm ok I promise. Now let me go get desert. I think you'll like it. The guys on the other hand, well they probably won't touch it with a ten foot pole, but that just leaves more for us right?"

I went into the kitchen to serve up four bowls of my grandma's Cake and mud. It was a chocolate cake covered in a very rich hot chocolate sauce. I brought it out and served it to Steph first before serving the guys. They both took very small bites to be polite, but Steph devoured hers.

"Oh my God Angie this is amazing!"

I laughed and took a bite of my own. "It's not as good as my grandma's but thanks. I'll be sure to send some home with you."

Steph grinned her thanks as she reached over and stole Ranger's serving. I just grinned as he certainly didn't object.

"Sorry guys. I just can't do boring and healthy when it comes to desert. It's just not right."

"That's ok Angie. I'm not a big desert eater anyway." Ranger told me. Steph told me as much this afternoon, so I made desert with her in mind. I knew Tank didn't touch sweets often, so I knew he wouldn't eat it either.

"Steph warned me about your boring eating habits this afternoon." I said with a smile. "I was rather prepared for it though. None of you guys know how to enjoy a good meal."

"Now that's not true, we just avoid things that are bad for you. You know little things like making sure to eat wheat bread instead of white that sort of thing."

I smiled. Ranger had hit on a topic I knew quite a bit about, so I thought I'd start a good discussion. "You do realize that these days with GMO wheat it has almost no nutritional value other than as a starch right? I mean if you go through the trouble to verify that the wheat was grown with open pollination seed you stand a better chance, but then again there is always the chance of cross pollination with GMO crops in the area. You're better off using something like rye, or the other darker breads. Even eating all organic these days is no guarentee that what you are getting is the best for you. Most large organic operations still use GMO seed which is much less nutritious than open pollinated types."

"Give an example."

I rolled my eyes and leaned forward on the table really getting into this. "oh that is WAY to easy. Iceburg lettuce. It has absolutely no nutritional value, it's only saving grace is that it has a negative calorie count. Iceburg lettuce does not occur naturally. It was created in a lab for a fast cheap lettuce that stored well. If you want something with some vitamins you need romaine, bibb, or a nice butter head"

Stephanie looked across the table at Tank. "They're going to be at this for a while aren't they."

"Yeah." Tank stood up and started clearing the dishes and Steph followed them. I could hear them stacking the dishes in the sink while I continued to look at Ranger across the table.

"What about organic eggs and chickens?"

"Be careful where you buy them, a lot of them still come from huge chicken farms where they may not be loaded with antibiotics, but they will still carry higher bacterial loads than free range chickens."

Ranger and I continued to chat about the benefits of organic non GMO produce and the cost vs. gain analysis. I don't know how long we sat there and talked but Tank and Steph came out of the kitchen and interrupted our talk.

"Are you guys STILL talking about food?" Steph asked.

"I told you they would be Steph." Tank told her.

Stephanie laughed and looked at me. "We just came out to let you know we cleaned the kitchen for you as a way of saying thanks for dinner."

"Oh my! I didn't realize we had gotten so carried away." I was so embarrassed to have a guest in the kitchen cleaning up and I hadn't even noticed.

"Don't worry about it. You and Ranger seemed like you were having some fun." she told me as she sat back down at the table.

"We were. I even learned a few things tonight. I hope we can continue this discussion sometime soon." Ranger told Steph.

"Of course, but before we do, I suggest you google Millions against Monsanto, and S.510 the Food Safety Modernization Act. It's pretty scary stuff."

Ranger stood up and pulled Stephanie to his side with a smile and a nod. "I will. How about we do this next week up on 7, that way you can relax and Ella can cook for us."

I glanced over at Tank questioningly. I didn't want to commit us to something he didn't want to do. I was relieved when he nodded his agreement.

"Sounds great Ranger, just let one of us know what day and time and we'll be there." I told him. We all stood around and said our goodbyes and Tank and I walked them to the door. When Tank closed the door behind them he turned to look at me

"I think tonight went well" he said.

"Yeah I really had a lot of fun. I hope Ranger and Steph did too." I was carefully avoided mentioning the whole impromptu bible lesson, hoping he would forget about it.

"I know Ranger did. He said more tonight talking with you than he says to most anybody but me and Steph. And I'm pretty sure Steph had a good time especially after you calmed her down."

I shrugged as I walked to the couch. "I'm just glad she's not so upset anymore."

Tank walked over and sat down next to me. "You know I always wondered how it was you were handling things so well."

I had to laugh as I looked at him. "Tank when you met me I was not handling things well. I was mean, and rude."

"Ok so you were having an off day. We all have them." he told me.

I just giggled and tucked my legs up underneath me. "That is one way of putting it I suppose."

"Can I ask you a question Angie?"

"Sure."

"So how do you do it? How do you keep your faith through all of this?"

"It's not easy, but I just try to remember that every time I have really just let go and let God, things worked out better than I could have ever hoped. I know God brought me here to this point in my life for a reason, I don't know what that reason is right now, but I will some day."

"But how do you know that?"

"Well I don't have any proof, so I guess my honest answer is that is why it is faith, the believing in something with out any concrete proof to prove it's existence." I chewed the inside of my lip as I watched him think about what I said.

"I can respect that. How come you haven't said anything before now?"

"To be honest, You guys don't seem the bible reading church on Sunday, let me pray on it kind of guys, and I didn't want to offend. Besides, I catch Mass on TV while you're at work." I said with a smile.

"So what were you and Ranger talking about? It looked a little heated out there once or twice."

I laughed and shifted my position on the couch. "I know exactly what times you are talking about. I was telling Ranger that I believe that in our lifetimes there will be a global food shortage, and the food that will be available will not be all that great. He disagreed pointing out that the world already produces more food than we need to feed each person, but that it was wealthy nations that consumed most of it. I agree with that, but I pointed out a few thing that were supporting my idea of wide spread famine."

Tank just sat and listened nodding a few times. I stood up and walked into the kitchen to get a bottle of water. I grabbed one for Tank as well and brought them back to the couch. "I never did get a chance to thank you for cleaning up the kitchen. I'm just sorry you had to. I shouldn't have gotten so wrapped up in talking that you guys ended up cleaning up the kitchen."

Tank took his bottle of water and set it on the coffee table and patted the couch next to him. "It's ok. It was the least we could do after you cooked dinner."

I sat down on the couch next to him and tucked my feet under me. "Are you sure you're ok with going up to Rangers for dinner next week? It's cool if you'd rather not."

"No, that's perfectly fine. I'm glad you have something to look forward to." He said, but he sounded distracted as though he had something else on his mind. "You know, I was thinking. If you're going to be here until after the trial, maybe you should really think about moving more of your stuff in."

"Tank, it's ok. My stuff can stay in storage. This is your apartment after all."

"Yeah I was thinking about that too. Maybe it's time that this was YOUR apartment. I should probably consider moving back to my house."

I nodded slowly. I knew this was coming, now that I was moving better and Bobby was going to take out my stitches soon. I knew he wouldn't feel bad leaving me here alone.

"You'll still come for breakfast in the mornings right?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world."

There didn't seem to be much to say after that, so by unspoken mutual agreement we just settled in to watch a movie.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: I will be out and about all day tomorrow (Wednesday) so I am going to post the chapter now.

I looked around the apartment and sighed softly. Today just sucked. Breakfast was quiet, I don't know what Tank said to Lester and Bobby, but they choose not to join us this morning. I don't think I've ever had a more difficult meal. Our conversation this morning consisted of talking about pieces of furniture, deciding what was staying and what was going. The couch, bed and table are staying, but the coffee table and end tables are going with Tank. We're splitting the dishes evenly. This was a lot like getting a divorce, trust me I've done it. If you're adults about it, you sit down and decide who is keeping what. I did that with my ex, and deciding who got to keep the kitchen knives, and who kept the ugly vase someones great aunt gave us was not as hard as sitting with Tank and deciding that the blue towels could stay, but he'd really like to have the chocolate brown ones because they went well with his new décor. Before this morning I didn't know I had a masochistic side, but it reared its ugly head and volunteered me to do the packing today while Tank was at work.

I straightened my spine and squared my shoulders. _You can do this Angie, just suck it up and get it done. _I picked up a box and walked into the bedroom. Tank asked if he could keep a couple changes of clothes here in the apartment in case he needed to change. I thought it was a pretty decent idea, so I started in the closet. I left three uniforms on the hanger, but the others I took down and folded neatly before sticking them in the box. I moved through the bedroom and methodically cleaned out drawers, and took down photos from the wall. I wrapped the photos in a couple of T-shirts before putting them in a box.

I packed each room in the house making sure nothing was missed. I didn't want to have to do this again. There wasn't a lot to pack, but it still took me quite a while. I had asked Tank not to come down for lunch. I wasn't quite ready for that. I think I hurt his feelings, but until I had a little time to get used to this I needed some space.

I finished packing up the last box, and set it aside with a sigh. I needed to get out of the apartment. I grabbed my cigarettes and headed down to the garage. I had just gotten my cigarette lit when I heard footsteps thundering down the stairs. I just ignored it, I figured the guys were responding to some sort of alarm. I leaned my head back against the wall and closed my eyes taking a deep drag. I opened my eyes a few minutes later when I felt someone staring at me. Standing right in front of me looking mighty upset was none other than Tank himself.

"What are you doing down here?" He demanded.

I took another drag and let it out slowly. "Smoking."

"Alone?"

I looked around me as if to look for another person. "Looks that way."

"You shouldn't be by yourself Angie, it isn't safe."

I finished my first cigarette, and lit another one before putting out the first. I know I was chain smoking, but today… I didn't care. "You can't have it both ways Tank. Either I'm safe to be alone in a secure area or I'm not. I've put up with a lot to keep my ass safe and most of it I'm fine with. But You don't get to decide this for me. Not today. You can't tell me that you are moving out because I am ok to be on my own inside of Rangeman and then come down here all pissy because I am on my own inside of Rangeman."

I crushed out my cigarette and threw it in the coffee can. "While you think about it I am going upstairs."

"Angie, wait. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come down here and gotten onto you like that."

"I'm not dealing with this right now Tank. Just figure out what the solution is and let me know. Hell make up a duty roster and have someone come get me a couple times a day I don't care, I just can't deal right now so I am going to go upstairs before I say something that I will regret later ok?" I didn't wait for him to answer I just pushed past him and headed for the elevator.

As soon as I got back into the apartment I regretted the way I handled the situation. I knew I needed to apologize. I decided that I would when he came to pick up his stuff.

I curled up on the couch and stared at the boxes in the corner of Tank's things. I knew he had made the decision that was right for him, and try as I might I couldn't feel good about that. I don't know how long I sat like that, but it was long enough that my foot started to fall asleep from the akward way it was curled under my body. I stood up and made my way into the kitchen wincing with each step. I looked in the fridge, and through the cabinets trying to find something that looked halfway appetizing. Nothing caught my eye, so I opened the freezer and grabbed one of my emergency candy bars.

I sat at the table and ate the candy bar with out really tasting it. I swore to myself that I would not cry. I took a deep breath and started counting wrinkles in my T-shirt to distract me and hopefully keep the tears from falling.

The day passed with agonizing slowness. I could hear the ticking of the clock, and it seemed to take forever in between each tick. At about 5 I decided I needed to pull myself together. I went into the bathroom and splashed some cold water on my face before changing into my favorite jeans and a cute little shirt that dipped dangerously low. I slipped on a pair of low heeled boots and brushed out my hair. I took a look in the mirror. I made a mental note that my butt length hair needed to be cut again, but other than that I thought I looked pretty good. I might feel like crap, but there was no need to look like it too.

I went to the kitchen and dug around in the cabinet and pulled out the sandwich maker that I got custody of and decided to make some 5 cheese grilled cheese sandwiches. Tank walked in the door just as I was setting the plate of sandwiches on the table.

"Hey." I said.

He looked over at me standing near the table with my hands in my back pockets. "Hey. I didn't think you were cooking tonight."

"Yeah, I didn't think I was going to either, but I thought I should at least try to make it up to for the way I acted earlier today. I'm just adjusting to another new normal, and unfortunately I took it out on you, and I'm sorry."

He walked over to the table and lightly hugged my shoulders. "No need to apologize, I shouldn't have over reacted the way I did."

I just nodded and gestured for him to have a seat. "I'll grab the water." I said as I headed to the kitchen. I came back to the table with two bottles of water. As I got settled Tank separated out the sandwiches.

"I think I got everything today, you might want to double check though."

"No worries. I'm sure you got everything just fine."

We ate in silence, but it wasn't the same comfortable silence of just a few days ago, this was a silence loaded with unspoken tension. I finally cleared the table, and yet we had still not really spoken to each other.

"I talked with Bobby today, and if you're ok with it he'll take out your stitches tomorrow. Just call him and he'll come down. I left his extention on the fridge."

"Ok. Thanks for letting me know. I'll give him a call mid morning. Do you think Bobby and Lester will be joining us for breakfast tomorrow?"

Tank started piling the coffee table and the end tables on the rolling cart to be taken down stairs. "I don't know. I suppose they can if you're ok with it."

"Yeah, the more the merrier." I told him as I started moving a couple boxes closer to him so he could load them up. We worked quietly and it wasn't long before everything but one last box was loaded on the cart. I picked it up and we made our way down to Tank's truck. I tried to help him load the truck but he waved me off, so I just stood back and watched. He pushed the cart up against the wall near the elevator for Louis to put away later and then came back to stand by the truck with me.

"Did we get everything?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah. I guess I should let you get going. You still have to unload when you get home."

"Let me walk you back upstairs."

I shook my head and gave him a smile. "I think I can manage, besides I'm going to have a smoke while I'm down here."

Tank nodded his agreement and pulled his keys out of his pocket. We said our good byes, and he climbed in his truck as I walked over to the tiny smokers corner of the garage. I lit my cigarette and leaned against the wall to watch his tail lights as he pulled out of the garage.

When I walked back into the apartment I was struck by how empty it looked. I closed the door behind me and leaned back against the door just taking a moment to pull myself together. I wandered through the apartment and finally ended up in the bedroom. I just stared at the bed that Tank and I had shared and decided I was not going to sleep there tonight. I ripped the comforter off the bed and grabbed a pillow and made my way out to the couch I flopped down and tried to get comfortable, but I just couldn't get this stupid song out of my head. As if my life wasn't bad enough I was now living a country song.

"_There were no angry words at all, as we carried boxes down the hall. One by one we put them in your car. Nothing much for us to say, one last goodbye and you drove away. I watched your tail lights as they faded in the dark. I couldn't face the night in that lonely bed so I laid down on the couch instead. Last night I prayed the Lord my soul to keep then I cried myself to sleep so sure my life wouldn't go on with out you. Lord the sun is blinding me as it wakes me from the dark. I guess the world didn't stop for my broken heart." _

I forced myself to lay down and I closed my eyes doing my best to ignore the music in my head, praying morning would come soon.


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: We got back earlier than expected. There will be a lot of updates this week, but not as many next week. I found out I am having an EMG on Monday to test the severity of nerve damage in my leg, and possibly some spinal surgery after that. I know that once they start talking about taking knives anywhere near my back I'll be too uptight and nervous to write much. With that in mind I bring you the next chapter of A Time for Tank.

It had been about a month since Tank had moved out, and I had settled into a new routine. Tank still came for breakfast with Bobby and Lester, but now Steph seemed to be the one who joined me for lunch most often, and I had dinner with Steph and Ranger at least once a week either upstairs or down here in my apartment. On the nights I wasn't hanging out with Steph and Ranger I had an open door policy, any of the guys who wanted to stop in and grab a bite were welcome. As a result I was really getting to know them all a lot better.

Hector was the only one of the guys I was still unsure about, but that was mostly because of the language barrier. He was teaching me some traditional dishes, but because he talked so fast we often had some interesting results.

I still missed Tank, and I felt a closeness with him that I didn't share with anyone else. He called almost every night to check on me, so we still talked a lot, but there was a physical distance between us that made my heart ache.

I looked at the pan in front of me trying to focus on making lunch. Steph was dropping by today. She did that a lot, which was great. Luckily she never again brought up her plan for Tank's surprise birthday party. I wasn't sure I was really game for calling his mother and going behind his back. I rather got the feeling that anyone who jumped out and yelled Surprise at a man like Tank would be greeted with a bullet and not a smile. I figured I'd just not get into a situation like that, after all .45 holes are not a good look on anyone.

I jogged to get the door when I heard Steph knock. She hurried into the apartment and closed the door before looking at me fairly vibrating with excitement. "It's all set Angie! I've got everything planned out except the menu, but Ella said she'd help you cook. Ranger said he'd arrange to get you out of the building safely and…"

I held up my hand to stop her. "Wait a minute. What are you talking about Steph?" I had a pretty good idea of what she was talking about, but I was hoping against all hope that she was talking about something completely different.

"Tank's birthday of course!" Steph said as she practically danced into the kitchen. "Do you mind if I grab a soda Ang?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed softly. Of course it was Tank's birthday, which according to my calendar and Steph's earlier information was exactly two weeks away. I followed behind Steph into the kitchen. "Go ahead Steph, you know the rule. First time you're here you're company. Second time you're family." I told her with a smile.

I watched Steph grab her soda and then lift herself up to sit on the counter. "So like I was saying. Ella said she'd do all the shopping, and would help you cook if you needed it. Ranger agreed that you could leave the building for the day and said he would take care of making sure you got there and keeping Tank busy. Tank's mom said she'd be there to let us all in and get everything set up." Steph stopped and started sniffing the air. "Angie, I think something is burning!"

"Oh Hell!" I hurried to the stove and pulled the pan with the grilled sandwiches off the burner. I turned the stove off and sighed. "Well let me get started on lunch again and you can tell me all about your plans."

Steph didn't seem to notice I sounded like I was going to my own funeral, she just continued to chatter on. "Don't worry. I'll call in an order to Pino's and we'll have one of the guys pick it up."

Steph jumped off the counter and hurried to make a phone call while I cleaned up the mess from my failed attempt at lunch. Steph put down the phone after ordering lunch and arranging to have Lester pick it up.

"Ok so Angie, the plan I had was for a dinner party. You, me, Tank, Ranger, Tank's mom, Bobby, Lester, and maybe their dates. We'll head over early, and get everything set up and then Ranger will bring Tank home and we can surprise him. How does that sound?"

I just stared at her in amazement. I hadn't seen her so excited in all the time that I had known her. I tried to be just as happy and excited as she was, but I was finding it a little difficult. I missed Tank, and I wasn't looking forward to spending much time in his house. I still didn't like to think of this place as my apartment, even though I had moved all of my stuff except my furniture in here. "It sounds like you have everything planned perfectly Steph. You have a knack for this. If you ever decide to quit bounty hunting you could be a party planner." I honestly meant that. It seemed like she had done a really good job figuring out all the details.

"I still need your help though. We're going to have to rent a table. Ranger says Tank's table isn't big enough to hold all of us. I thought if we were going to rent the table we could rent some really nice looking dishes and everything."

I couldn't help but smile. Steph really had an image in her mind of how this was going to go. I didn't think that Tank was the fine dining fancy dinner party kind of guy, but I was willing to go along with what ever she had up her sleeve. "So did you have a menu in mind?" I rather hoped she did. I didn't know if I wanted to try to plan a menu around Steph's dream dinner party.

"hmmm well I had some ideas. I know having steak would be good, but I don't know what else would be good. I mean like that first dinner we had here was awesome! You know with like the salad and main course and dessert. Could we do something along those lines?"

"Ok, we could start with maybe a mixed green salad with an Italian dressing, and maybe a grilled steak and lobster? I have no idea about dessert though. I mean half of the dinner guests don't really eat dessert. I suppose I could do a berry ice cream."

Steph looked overjoyed at this. "Oh this is going to be perfect."

We were interrupted by a knock on the door. When I answered it I found Lester standing there with the Pizza. I invited him in and closed the door. Lester put the pizza on the table and headed to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water.

"Hey Steph, did you fill Angie in on all your plans?"

Steph came over to the table and opened the pizza box with a grin. "Yup. All systems go for Operation Birthday Party."

Lester and I both laughed as Steph decided that this was no longer just a party, but a full fledged operation. I headed to the kitchen to grab three plates. I figured Lester would be joining us for lunch.

When I got back to the table I had to laugh at Steph and Lester already eating pizza over the box. I passed them each a plate before sitting down and grabbing a slice for myself. Steph was excitedly explaining things to Lester when I turned my attention to the conversation.

"And then we'll have grilled steak and lobster, and Angie knows how to make a berry ice cream, and everything is going to be awesome!"

I just smiled and shook my head. I couldn't believe she was so excited over someone else's birthday. "It is going to be very nice Steph. I'm sure everything is going to be absolutely perfect."

Lester was keeping his mouth shut, but I could tell by the look on his face he was really amused. Steph finished inhaling her pizza and jumped up out of her chair. "I have to run upstairs and get the catalog from the rental place so we can pick out dishes and all the other stuff we need."

I laughed and waved as Steph hurried out the door, and then turned back to my lunch.

"Uh Angie? How do you plan on pulling this off?" Lester asked.

I shrugged. "I'm not pulling anything off. All I have to do is show up and cook. This is Steph's show."

"That's not what I mean. I'm pretty sure Steph wants you to actually EAT what you're cooking." he pointed out.

I laughed and stood up clearing my plate and Stephs. "Lester, right now she is so excited about pulling together a fancy dinner party. I'm not going to burst her bubble. I'm planning on twelve for dinner even though the count Steph gave me is 9. I'm hoping she won't notice when the table is set for 8. I mean look at her she is so excited."

Lester sighed and picked up his plate to bring to the kitchen too. "I know. I don't want to tell her that Tank really isn't a fancy dinner kind of guy. It would break her heart."

I nodded as I set the plates in the sink. "Then don't say a word. Just find another couple to invite, and hopefully everything will go off with out a hitch."

Lester looked like he was about to say something when the door flew open and Steph came back holding a stack of catalogs. She took them and set them on the wooden trunk I used in place of a coffee table. "I brought the catalogs. I went through them the other night and put post it flags on the stuff I liked. I thought we could pick out what to get together since you know what we'd need."

I looked at Lester as we headed into the living room to help Steph pick out the perfect everything. I swear we must have gone through catalogs for hours before everyone could agree that Steph had made wonderful choices on everything. I did have to add an order of a couple different types of glasses, but other than that I let Steph make her choices. I for one would have stayed away from gold chargers. I really didn't like gold. I was more of a silver fan, but what ever made Steph happy. She even put in an order for nice linen napkins. By the time Steph and Lester left I was exhausted. I didn't know where Steph got her energy for all of this.


	20. Chapter 20

Stephanie Plum was going to be the death of me, I just knew it. I had spent the last week and a half on the phone with the party rental place, Ella, and Tank's mom Miss Cici. Steph certainly did a bulk of the party planning, but a lot of tiny details were being left up to me.

I had confirmed with the party rental place that I would indeed be there at noon for them to drop things off. Ella and I went over lists of supplies I would need, and she made sure to order all of them for me. Half the time I was on the phone with Miss Cici had nothing at all to do with the party at all. We spent entire afternoons chatting about everything from Tank to our current sewing projects. I was really looking forward to meeting her in person. She seemed like a very wonderful lady.

I was starting to look forward to getting a day out of the apartment. I had everything ready. I'd pulled out my good knives, and made my prep lists and everything was absolutely ready to go. Now, I just had to wait until then.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The day of the party stated way to early. Bobby and Lester showed up at my door at 3:30 in the morning. They had finished loading everything in the back of an SUV, and we were just waiting for Miss Cici to call and tell us that Tank had left for work. Someone had decided that the best way to get me there with out Tank noticing was to sneak me out of Rangeman while he was en route. Bobby was the one to grab my phone on the first ring.

"Ok, we'll be there soon. Thanks for letting us know." He hung up the phone and looked at me and Lester. "All clear. Let's get this show on the road."

I sleepily followed the guys down to one of the SUV's and climbed in the back seat. I was instructed to lay down on the seat and stay out of sight. I rolled my eyes and did what I was told. I thought about arguing, but really what was the point. They would just sit there and tell me that we would do it their way or no way. I decided that even if I had to ride like this I could still make them talk to me. "You guys are bringing dates tonight right?"

Bobby turned around from the passenger seat and looked at me with a smile. "Oh yeah… I met this cute little thing when I was at the restaurant supply store picking up some of that stuff you asked for, and she's bringing her best friend for Lester."

I rolled my eyes. "Do either of you ever actually have a second date?"

Lester laughed and I saw his eyes flick up to look at me in the rearview mirror. "I had one once. I think Bobby's had a couple."

"Someday you both are going to meet a woman who has you desperate for a second date, and if there is any justice in the world she is going to make you work for it."

They both laughed at me and Lester stopped at a 7-11 to pick up coffee for all three of us. Bobby held my coffee for me since I was in no position to drink it right now. We continued the drive in silence and soon Lester was pulling into the garage. Bobby jumped out and went into the house, leaving Lester and I sitting in the garage. Lester did let me sit up and handed me my coffee. I took a sip and grinned. He remembered my weakness for gas station French vanilla cappuccino. Bobby returned a few minutes later and I grabbed my bag and slid out of the SUV. The guys went to the back and started unloading boxes upon boxes of supplies that Ella had sent.

We trooped into the kitchen I was right on the heels of the guys, and as soon as we walked in I stopped dead in my tracks. Tank's kitchen was a cooks dream. "I think I am in love." I said as I lightly ran my hand over the marble counter top on the island.

"And here I thought you were in love with my boy." I heard a voice say from behind me.

I must have jumped about three feet in the air because as I was turning around to look at the owner of the voice, Bobby and Lester were laughing their asses off at me. I had to smile as I was wrapped in large warm hug.

"I'm glad to finally meet you Angie."

"Oh it is wonderful to meet you too Miss Cici. Have you met Bobby and Lester?" I asked as she finally let me go.

"Oh yes. Pierre brought them down to help me clean up after that whole Katrina mess a few years back." She put a hand on my back and gently guided me out of the way so the guys could set everything down and go back to finish unloading the truck. I set my bag down in the corner to make sure it was out of the way and then I began unloading all of the supplies. I enjoyed having the time to get to know my work space.

While the guys were unloading supplies I chatted with Cici. I had asked her where the cats were, and she told me that they had their own room set up for them, and she had shut them in there, so today didn't upset them. When the guys were done unloading the SUV, Cici had them take Tank's dining room table out to the garage. I turned around to find Bobby and Lester leaning against the island in the kitchen wearing puppy dog faces. I sighed and crossed my arm over my chest.

"I suppose you two want some breakfast now huh?" I laughed as they both nodded looking absolutely pathetic. I looked over at Cici. "Do you think it would be ok if raided the fridge?"

She nodded at me with a smile. "Of course, you are welcome to anything you need."

I turned and started going through the fridge, finding some eggs, cheese and veggies to make omelets. "I swear, I cant imagine how you managed not to starve to death before you met me."

"We gave Ella the puppy dog eyes, so she would cook for us."

I had to laugh at that and Cici's laughter soon joined mine. "You know guys, women really find a man who can cook sexy." I told them as I placed my hands flat on the island and jumped up so my knees were resting on the counter so I could grab a pan from the hanging pot rack.

I looked over at Cici, "I think I should have packed a ladder. I'm too short."

I hopped off the counter and went to the stove. Cici went to the fridge and grabbed a small step stool from beside the large stainless steel appliance. She leaned it against the fridge so I could grab it when needed.

"I made Pierre buy it for me last time I was here. I'm not tall enough for half the things in this house either."

I laughed and thanked her as I started cracking eggs in a bowl for breakfast. I just listened to Bobby and Lester talking to Cici about some of the repairs on the house that they did. They wanted to know how it was all holding up, and they were just generally checking up on her It was nice to listen to people talking while I was cooking. I grabbed some plates from the cupboard and served up the first omelet to Cici. Luckily there were a couple of bar stools around the island so she had a place to sit. I quickly finished breakfast for the guys and turned off the stove to chug down my coffee.

Once I was done with the coffee, I headed over to my bag in the corner and dug out my prep list. I stuck it on the fridge and read it over. I decided I could start with the veggies for tonight's salad. I grabbed the lettuce from the fridge and set it on a counter while I got out a large bowl and filled it with water. I washed my hands and dried them before I got started on cutting the lettuce to the right size setting it in the water to make sure it got really clean.

"Hey guys, did you happen to find out from Ella what time she was bringing over the lobster? She didn't want to buy it until today since it is hard to hide a dozen live lobster." I kept working as I talked. I had a lot to get done today.

"I don't know. I can call her later and ask if you want." Lester replied.

"I'd appreciate it. I need to make sure I can get them all done in time."

Bobby laughed. "Angie, relax everything is going to be fine."

I turned to look at him and crossed my arms over my chest. "Oh no. I'm not taking that kind of attitude today. Steph will FREAK if anything goes wrong today. I have no idea why this is such a big deal for her, but it is. So we are going to treat this like it is a big deal."

I stood there staring at both of the guys until they reluctantly agreed. No one was quite sure what the deal was with Steph and this party, but they were going to be taking it seriously from now on if I had anything to say about it.

Lester leaned over to Bobby and whispered, but not very quietly. "Man she's cranky when she doesn't get her morning cigarette."

I narrowed my eyes, I was going to snap at him, but I realized Lester was right, and I hated that. I didn't want my mood to depend on having a cigarette first thing in the morning. Maybe it was time to just quit… but not today.

"Well if that is what the girl needs, you two take her out to the garage." Cici told them as she gathered up all the breakfast plates and moved over to load the dishwasher. She turned back and saw the guys still standing there looking at each other trying to decide if letting me smoke in Tank's garage was a good idea or not. "Didn't you two hear me. Outside. Now."

I myself was a little taken aback by the strength behind those words, she seemed like such a sweet old lady. I turned off the tap and went to my bag to grab my cigarettes and walked over to the guys. As we started to move towards the garage door Cici was back to being a sweet little old lady. "Thank you."

When we got out to the garage I couldn't help but laugh as I started to pack my cigarettes against my hand. "I see where Tank gets it."

I brought a cigarette to my lips and lit it taking a long drag and leaned against the SUV. "So, are you two my babysitters today?"

"Nah, we're really supposed to hang around and be errand boys incase you need us to go get anything." Lester told me as he moved closer to Bobby to get out of the smoke.

"That and Ranger thought Lester here might be able to give you a hand. He did a lot of KP duty when we were in the Army." Bobby said.

I laughed and rolled my eyes bringing my cigarette to my lips trying to smoke quickly. "I can see that. I might just be able to use some help, at least I know I'll be able to use it when the dishes get here" I said with a grin. I knew Lester hated dishes, he would do anything to get out of them.

"Awwww Angie, can't I peel potatoes or something instead? Or maybe go get more coffee?" He gave me a huge grin and wiggled his eyebrows.

I quickly finished my cigarette while I pretended to think about it. I crushed out the smoke on the bottom of my shoe and looked at Lester. "Ok. I'll make you a deal. You go get me the biggest French vanilla cappuccino you can find and a couple of those Nature Valley crunchy granola bar things and you won't have to do the dishes."

"Deal!" he said. Lester then pulled the keys out of his pocket and jingled them in front of me. "I'll head out as soon as you and Bobby are inside."

We headed in side and locked the door behind us and heard Lester fire up the SUV. Bobby looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "So what are you going to make him do instead of dishes?"

I giggled to myself and just grinned at Bobby as I went to wash my hands "Well Bobby, those lobsters aren't going to kill themselves."


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: A lot of you wanted to know why Angie was avoiding Tank, and if they were ever going to talk. I thought I'd toss it out there.

XXXXX

I was so glad I sent Lester for coffee. He brought me back one of those 64 ounce monster size soda cups full of cappuccino. He was doing it to be a smart ass since I asked for the biggest he could find, but today having that much coffee was a godsend.

I spend most of the morning prepping for this evenings meal. I had to stop at noon when the party rental place delivered the dishes, linens and the table. I managed to get that taken care of pretty easily, but when I went to put the linens on the table I noticed that they really needed to be washed again. I put Bobby on Laundry duty. He was in charge of washing drying and ironing all the linens for tonight. I had Lester working on the lobster that Ella had dropped off at about ten this morning. I had only planned on serving the tails tonight, so I used a good portion of the lobster meat to make the four of us a lobster salad for lunch, and after lunch I started on making the berry ice cream for dessert. Tank's freezer was packed. I had to juggle glasses and frozen berries to get the tub of ice cream in the freezer to set.

Having extra help really made today much easier and before I knew it, it was nearly 4 o'clock. I ran out into the dining room to check on how things were going in there, and Bobby was just finishing the table with the help of Cici.

"Bobby, when you are done there why don't you and Lester head out. You need time to get ready for your dates. And I need a favor." I handed him a sheet of paper with a wine list on it. "I need you to grab these for me please."

Bobby looked at the list and then looked at me unsure. "Angie I don't know if …"

"Please Bobby. I'm not drinking it, I'm just serving it. I know you guys are worried about me, but I've been in recovery for five years now." I knew I was begging, and I didn't care. The wines tied everything together, one wine for each course.

"Ok, I'll do it, but you owe me." he said with a smile as he finished smoothing out the napkins.

"No problem. I'll cook a romantic dinner for two you can pop in the oven and impress a girl next time you have a date." I told him, happy he wasn't going to put up much of a fight on this for me.

I turned and dashed back into the kitchen just in time to see Lester finishing with the last lobster. I gave him my thanks, and told him to go help Bobby and Cici so they could get out of here faster and get ready to get their dates.

I peeked my head out into the dining room once again. "Miss Cici? If you don't mind I'm going to run upstairs to shower and change in a minute."

Cici stopped and turned to me. "Go ahead. The guest bathroom is a mess, use the one in Pierre's bathroom if you don't mind."

"Not a problem. Thank you for all your help today." Cici had been a huge help, even with the breaks we made her take. That woman was a force of nature, when she saw something needed to be done, it got done and in a hurry. I popped back into the kitchen only long enough to grab my cigarettes and head out to the garage. I was going to need a smoke to get me through tonight.

I leaned against the SUV and lit a cigarette I was just getting relaxed when Lester poked his head out the garage door. "Angie. Steph wants to talk to you." He held his cell phone out to me.

I sighed softly as I walked over to grab the phone from him. "Thanks Les." I forced a smile on my face as I answered the phone.

"This is Angie."

"Hey. It's Steph. I just wanted to check in and make sure everything was on schedule."

I fought the urge to loose my temper, this was the tenth phone call I'd had from Steph today. "Everything is right on time Steph. I promise to call if that changes."

"Ok. Can I ask what you are going to wear?"

I rolled my eyes at Lester who stood waiting patiently for his phone before I answered Steph. "I'm going to wear black dress pants and a white shirt." it was the uniform of every chef and 90% of wait staff everywhere, so I figured it would work for me tonight

"Oh Angie! You should dress up a little more. I'll bring something for you. I'm going to be heading that way in just a few minutes. I'm going to grab a few things and then I'll be on my way."

"Ok Steph, I'll see you soon." I hung up the phone and handed it to Lester before resuming my perch against the SUV.

"Is everything ok?" he asked me as he took a step closer.

"Yeah, Steph is just driving me crazy, apparently my wardrobe choice for tonight needs to be dressed up a bit, and she is on her way." I said with my eyes widening to show that I was not overly excited about this latest development. "I'm going to need a meeting by the end of the night."

Les leaned against the truck next to me. "We might not be able to get you to a meeting, but if you need to talk, you know you can always come to any of us."

"Thanks Les. I appreciate it, but I'm ok. Just a little edgy, Steph is driving me nuts."

Just then Lester's phone rang and he showed me the caller ID it was Steph. He answered the phone and listened for just a minute before disconnecting.

"Steph is leaving the office now, and she said I'm supposed to tell you that tonight is all about a promise you made to her."

I sighed and quickly lit another cigarette off the first and took a long drag. "That little… She… I can't believe… UGH!" I finally just yelled in frustration.

Lester looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "You going to be ok there Angie?"

I nodded. "Yeah, but she manipulated me! I had just thought Steph had forgotten that little conversation in all of the excitement, but come to find out all this excitement was BECAUSE of that little conversation."

"I see… So you going to tell me what that promise was?" he nudged my arm gently with his elbow.

"Nope." I grinned at him before putting out my smoke. "I got to shower before Steph gets here." I told him before blowing him a kiss and hurrying inside.

I took the fastest shower on record. I needed to be done and ready when Steph showed up in case she had any last minute changes or details to be worked out. I pulled on my clothes, I had decided to wear a white tank top while cooking and just put on my dress shirt when I went out to serve dinner. I dug around in my bag and found the patch I had gotten from Zero. I had asked him one day how he managed to go so long between cigarettes while at work, and he told me he wore a nicotine patch. So when Steph told me about her plans for tonight, I begged a patch off him. I ripped open the package and slapped the patch on my upper arm. I ran a brush through my hair. I had thought about braiding it, but I was running short on time, so I pulled out my baggie full of hair bands and put my hair up in a ponytail and then added a band every couple of inches all the way down to keep my hair out of the way and under control. I knew Steph wanted me to wear at least a little makeup tonight so I grabbed my mineral foundation and quickly swirled the brush over my face, and put on a little lipstick. I always wore very natural neutral tones, so when I realized I had forgotten my eye shadow I just put a little lipstick on my finger and smudged it on my eyelids. I threw everything back in my bag and hurried back down stairs.

I was just putting my apron on over my head when I heard the doorbell ring. I heard Cici get it, and then I heard Stephanie's voice. I heard the two of them chatting as they walked back towards the kitchen. I couldn't hear what they were talking about, but with those two anything was possible. Steph came into the kitchen and stood near the island.

I glanced up from my work changing the cool water over the veggies and gave her a smile. "Hey Steph. Everything is really coming together. You did a great job."

She just laughed and shook her head. "I just came up with the idea's you've been doing all the work. I brought you something to wear tonight."

I stopped what I was doing and turned around to look. She was holding up a beautiful dress in a deep hunter green, and high heels that I would likely break a leg in. I took a deep breath. I was going to tell her I couldn't wear it. I really was, but the look on her face… I just couldn't do it. I dried my hands and walked over to her.

"It is beautiful Steph, but I happen to know that I don't own anything even close to that dress."

She laughed and handed me the dress and shoes. "I know, but I still had your size from when I went shopping for you before. Go upstairs and try it on."

I just shook my head and pulled over one of the bar stools from the island and draped the dress over it. I had done a lot of theater when I was younger, so I was a master at the quick wardrobe change. I just pulled off my tank top and laughed quietly when Steph blushed and turned her head. I pulled the dress over my head, and once it was settled I unbuttoned my pants and stepped out of them. I gave a quick twirl and looked at Steph. "Is this ok?"

She turned back to me and gestured for me to spin around again before handing me a package of panty hose. "You'll need these, but other than that it's perfect."

I took the panty hose with a sigh and sat down on the bar stool to put them on. I hated panty hose, and once you got to be my size they really only came in control top, so they were a real bitch to put on. I managed to get the panty hose on and hopped off the stool and stepped back into my pants.

"Steph, I promise to wear the dress when I come out of the kitchen, but I really can't cook in that. Ok?"

Steph looked a little disappointed, but she seemed to accept the compromise. "Ok. Oh I forgot to tell you Ranger and the guest of honor will be here in about half an hour, but everyone else is coming in about an hour."

Cici came over and lightly hugged my shoulders. "Take a few minutes to calm down. Everything is ready to go. You haven't sat down at all today. If you don't sit you won't make it through the evening."

I leaned a little into the hug and gave her a smile. "Yes Ma'am."

When she let me go I went over to pour some of my gallon of coffee into a mug and heat it in the microwave. As soon as it was warm I double checked the temp on the oven, and the controls on the built in grill that resided in the island before taking a seat. "So tonight we have Pierre, Miss Cici, Ranger, you Steph, Bobby, Lester their dates, and I think there was one more couple you were inviting?" I asked.

"It's not a couple exactly. Cal and Hal will be here tonight because you know the guys, they aren't happy unless the number of weapons in a room outnumbers the amount of civilians, and since I limited them to ONE each, they decided to add a couple more guys. I noticed there was one place absent Angie. I really wanted you to join us."

I had to smile a little at that. I knew how the guys were with their guns. "Can't blame them though. They spend so much time being paranoid, they can't relax unless they are armed." I had to think for a minute on how I was going to respond to her request that I join them.

Cici excused herself to go upstairs and get herself ready, and Steph took the stool next to mine. I decided I better give her my reasons now. "Steph, I know you wanted me to join you, but I can't. Having a nice relaxing dinner together was something we used to do, and I'm not ready to go out there and pretend everything is ok, when it isn't. I miss him Steph. More than I should. I found a brown wash cloth in the bathroom cabinet the other day and had a break down. Over a wash cloth of all things. But it made me think of him not being there because the brown towels match his décor in the house."

Steph awkwardly patted my shoulder. She was not a very touchy feely kind of person, but she was trying. "I know Angie. Ranger and I could see it. Bobby and Lester too. You thought you were hiding it, but you never were the same. Remember when you promised me you'd talk to him tonight? That's why I made such a big deal out of this whole thing, and getting the right setting for that kind of talk, just wasn't happening at the office. I knew you'd be on board with this party if you thought it was important to me."

I took a sip of my coffee and looked at her trying not to sigh. "Steph, I don't know if tonight is the best time."

Steph looked at me seriously. "You made a promise."

Damn! She had me there. I just took another sip of my coffee and nodded. "Ok. I'll talk to him. Just promise me I can stay in the kitchen and focus on getting through dinner."

Just as I answered her I could hear Ranger and Tank walking in the front door. Steph just grinned. "I'll send him in!" She said brightly as she hopped off the stool and hurried out of the kitchen. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly before finishing off my coffee. I went to refill my cup and put it in the microwave when I heard the kitchen door open. The sight that greeted my eyes was amazing. Tank was in black dress pants and a beautiful deep blue silk shirt and a black tie. He looked amazing.

"Steph said you wanted to talk to me." He said as he walked into the kitchen.

I nodded and tried to make my tongue work. "I thought tonight was supposed to be a surprise."

Tank walked across the kitchen to stand next to me. "Ranger gave me the heads up, so I grabbed some dress clothes before I left for work this morning."

I grabbed my coffee from the microwave and grinned. "Just don't tell Stephanie. She's worked really hard on tonight."

"So Ranger tells me."

I walked over to the island and looked at him again. I noticed his tie was a little crooked. I set down my coffee. "Come here and sit down so I can fix your tie."

He walked over and took a seat on the stool next to me. I turned to him and straightened his tie, and then smoothed down his collar.

"So you wanted to talk?" he prompted.

I took a deep breath and picked off a tiny piece of lint from his shirt. This was hard, I didn't know what to say. I finally decided to just go for it. "I miss you Tank. I want you to come home." I lowered my head and lightly brushed my lips across his in a soft kiss. "Please." I whispered.


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: Sorry about the abrupt ending of the last chapter. I didn't realize that my daughter had "Helped" So when I saved the file it chopped it off. LOL I looked it over after a few of you let me know about the short talk. It works ok, as long as I put this chapter with it.

XXXXXXX

"I miss you Tank. I want you to come home." Then she kissed me, it was just the softest brush of her lips, but it was probably the most amazing kiss I'd ever experienced. When she whispered "Please." I thought that was going to be my undoing. I couldn't think. I grasped her hips with my hands, and I was about to kiss her back when the kitchen door swung open and she jumped away from me.

We both turned to see who was coming in the kitchen and Angie blushed an amazing shade of red when she saw my mother standing there with a grin on her face.

"Pierre, your guests are arriving. I know this isn't your thing, but you really should go greet them."

"Yes Ma'am." I said as I lightly ran my hand down Angie's arm. "I'm coming."

"Good. You and Angie will have time to talk later." She said standing there, obviously waiting for me to join her.

I looked at Angie and gave her a small smile. "Talk later?"

She nodded and glanced over at my Mama before looking back at me. "Yeah. Go see who's here."

I stood up and walked over to the door and took my mother by the arm and gave Angie one last glance, but she was already hard at work getting things set up for dinner."

I walked out to the living room with my mom, and smiled as Bobby and Lester introduced their dates Brandy and Tiffany. I smiled politely and shook their hands. Bobby held up a bag and asked me if I he minded if he ran it back to the kitchen. I didn't mind at all, so he headed back to drop off a few things with Angie. Just as Bobby was walking back to us, Cal and Hal showed up. Stephanie began ushering us into the dining room, when we were all seated she poked her head into the kitchen and let Angie know every one was here.

Bobby set a bottle of wine on the table and handed me the cork screw. I raised an eyebrow at him because the guys knew I didn't like having alcohol around to tempt Angie. I didn't say anything though, I just popped the cork and poured the wine. Almost as soon as I sat down, Angie came out with the salads. I was suddenly having a hard time swallowing. She was wearing a beautiful dark green dress that swirled around her legs as she walked. I gave her a smile as she began serving the salad course. As she placed my salad in front of me she whispered softly. "Steph made me dress up."

I gave her a smile and a quiet chuckle as she walked away. It took her two trips to get out all the plates, but once we were all served she spoke quietly. "I hope you all enjoy tonight's meal. I would like to know how you would like your steaks prepared." She looked at each person as they answered her question and amazingly she never wrote anything down. She just slipped back into the kitchen with a smile.

I just sat quietly and listened to the quiet conversation going on around the table. I couldn't believe the girls that Bobby and Lester had found for tonight. I swear they hadn't said anything intelligent in the last 10 minutes. I leaned over to my mom and whispered quietly. "Listening to those two makes me glad that Angie's smarter than I am"

My Mom whipped her head around to look at me and I could tell she was trying really hard not to laugh out loud. She leaned over to whisper to me in return. "Behave. You're not to old for me to take over my knee."

I had to bite the inside of my cheek at the mental image of my five foot nothing mother taking me over her knee, but the one sobering thought that helped contain the laughter was the realization that she would do it too.

I just lowered my head a little with a quiet. "Yes Ma'am"

Stephanie was trying her best to look interested in what Brandy and Tiffany were saying.

"and we were so totally excited to get to come here tonight. It's not often we meet really hot guys working in the Restaurant Depot." Brandy said.

Angie came back out with a second bottle of wine and handed it to me before she started to clear away the salad plates. Before I could say anything to her though she had disappeared through the kitchen door taking the dishes with her. I poured the second round of wine and Steph spoke up. "Angie said she picked each wine to go with each course. She's been working on this menu with Ella for two weeks."

Before conversation could really get started again, Angie returned with the plates of New York strip steak, and grilled Lobster tail. I had to hand it to her, she had done a beautiful job. She even made sure to serve the men with large steaks, but had cut down on the portion size for the women. Angie had to take three trips this time with the bigger plates. On her third trip out I made sure to catch her wrist. She leaned over so I could tell her how wonderful she looked, and how amazing I thought she had done on dinner tonight.

"Stephanie. Your caterer is amazing. You'll have to give me her number." Tiffany said about half way through her steak.

"She's not a caterer. She's my girlfriend." I found myself saying. I must have said it loud enough for Angie to hear because I heard glass crashing against the kitchen floor, at the same time Stephanie and my mother were giving each other a High five. I felt my eyebrow raising at that. My mother didn't high five.

Stephanie on the other hand was busy on her cell phone sending out a text.

"Steph, who are you texting?" Ranger wanted to know.

"Ella. Trust me. She wants to know." Ranger just shrugged while Lester and Bobby grinned like idiots. Cal and Hal were both coughing a little trying to keep straight faces.

Hal finally stood up. "I'm going to go see if Angie needs any help after that crash."

Hal disappeared into the kitchen, only to come out a few minutes later and sat back down and tucked into his dinner.

"Was everything ok?" Lester asked.

"Oh yeah. She told me she was fine and to go sit down and eat because she was fixing dessert."

The look on his face told me she had probably said it a little differently than that, but no one bothered to ask for more clarification. Angie peeked her head out of the kitchen to check on our progress. I held my hand out for her to come over to me. When she got close enough I grabbed her hand pulled her closer as I stood up and wrapped my arms around her, and lowered my head to kiss her lips.

We finally pulled apart when I heard my mother say. "I told that boy he got a good one. Its about damn time he listened to his Mama."

Angie's face was bright red as I stood there holding her at my side.

"Wow. It's really warm in here. I think we need Ice cream. Who wants ice cream?" She didn't even wait for an answer before escaping to the kitchen. I wanted to follow her, but I knew she needed a minute to collect herself. I picked up my wine glass and drained it before glancing at everyone at the table. "Excuse me. I'll be right back."

I walked into the kitchen and moved to stand right behind Angie and wrapped my arms around her middle. "Relax baby."

I felt more than heard her let out a deep breath as she relaxed against me for a minute. "I am relaxed." She told me and I laughed as I leaned down and kissed the top of her head.

"No, relaxing is where you sit on the couch, remove your arsenal and watch mind numbing TV in your undies." I couldn't help but smile even bigger as she laughed hearing me repeat her own words to her.

"Ok, let me phrase this differently. I am as relaxed as I can be right now. Let me get these desserts out, and then after an appropriate amount of time we can kick every one out and talk."

I laughed and let go of her when she stood up straight again. "I can go kick them all out now if you want."

She looked at me over her shoulder and shook her head. "No, enjoy your birthday. Steph worked so hard to make tonight perfect."

I leaned over and kissed her lightly. "Tonight became perfect when you kissed me for the first time."

She just smiled at me and turned to dish up the dessert. "Go sit down. I'll be out in a minute."

I didn't want to leave, but Angie had a point. The sooner we finished this meal the sooner we could be alone. I walked back into the dining room and took my seat once again. The conversation was pretty quiet, it seemed no one really had much to say after that little display. I thought I should say something, but I was saved by Angie walking out of the kitchen with a large tray on her arm where she had martini glasses filled with blueberries and topped with a scoop of what looked like sorbet.

She easily balanced the tray as she began serving dessert. The entire table knew when Steph took her first bite, the moan that escaped her lips made it obvious. Once everyone had been served Angie rested the tray against the wall and looked at all of us.

"Don't be afraid to eat it guys." I knew she was talking to all of us Rangeman employees. "It's made with yogurt and honey. No sugar or artificial flavoring I promise." She bent over to pick up the tray and started to stand up. Before she could stand up all the way she fell to the floor and that's when I heard the gun shot.


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: I had to change things up and add an extra chapter here and there to get things flowing. There are just a few more chapters and an epilogue to this story. If there is enough interest I will start on a second story to this called "One day at a time." Which will be a more in depth story of the developing relationship between Tank and Angie and their daily lives together.

xxxxx

I did it. I finally said something to Tank. I thought he was going to kiss me back, but then his Mom came in to tell him guests were arriving. I think the ice that had formed over the topic of our relationship had finally been broken. I managed a small smile when Tank asked if we could talk later. I was surprised to realize that I was actually looking forward to talking with Tank, no matter the outcome it would be a relief to finally know one way or the other.

When Tank stood up to leave I turned to attend to last minute details, mostly to keep myself from blurting out something really stupid, like confessions of love. I took a deep breath and forced myself to focus on the task at hand. Getting through dinner with out making a fool of myself.

I had just finished putting together the salad in a large bowl, making sure it was ready to be dressed when Bobby came in the kitchen with the wine. I turned around and wiped my hands on my apron giving him a smile.

"Thank you!" I picked up the first bottle of wine and tested the glass on the inside of my wrist. This particular wine was better if it was not chilled, so I set it on the counter along with the lovely red I had chosen to go with the main course. I popped the dessert wine in the freezers ice bin to chill. It would have been better to have let it chill all day, but you work with what you've got.

"Angie, is everything ok? You seem tense." Bobby said as he leaned against the wall near he door.

"Oh, I'm fine, just running through last minute details is all." I dug through the drawers and finally came up with a corkscrew. I grabbed the bottle of wine off the counter handing it at the corkscrew to Bobby. "Here, take this with you."

"In a hurry to get rid of me?" he said, pretending to be wounded.

"Nope, just don't want your date to have to come looking for you."

Bobby laughed and pushed his way through the swinging kitchen door. I was just about to pour another cup of coffee when Steph pushed open the kitchen door and poked her head in.

"Hey Angie, everyone is here when ever you want to start. No hurries though ok?" She lowered her voice in almost a whisper. "So, how'd it go? You guys talk it out?"

I just rolled my eyes "I'll give you all the details later. I'll be out in a few minutes with the salads."

Steph just nodded and left me to get started. I quickly laid out the plates on the counter before grabbing the bottle of dressing and drizzling it over the salad. I tossed the bowl a few times then used my hands to toss the salad a little more. I grabbed a plastic fork from a cup of utensils on the counter and took a small bite of the salad before tossing the fork in the trash can. I added a little salt and pepper and repeated the process. Once everything was seasoned properly, I started plating. I looked at the plates when I was done and decided they looked good enough. I quickly washed and dried my hands before changing into the dress Stephanie had bought for me. I looked at the shoes she had brought, and really thought about just going stocking footed. I decided against it though and slipped the shoes on.

I was suddenly very grateful for all those years I spent waiting tables. It wasn't easy to balance that many plates, and it was made even harder by the fact I was terrified I was going to break an ankle, but I managed to make it out into the dining room with out mishap. I served Tank first because he was he guest of honor. When I placed the plate down in front of him I leaned into him slightly to whisper. "Steph made me dress up."

My heart skipped a beat when he smiled at me, and luckily I managed to serve the salads in two trips with out any mishaps. "I hope you all enjoy tonight's meal. I would like to know how you would like your streaks prepared."

I listened carefully, but it wasn't difficult, just as I suspected the guys wanted theirs medium rare, or medium, and the Ladies where more on the side of medium well to well done. I slipped back into the kitchen and grabbed pulled the apron on over my head. I know I told Steph I couldn't cook in this get up, and I was probably right, but I was going to give it my best shot. The costume changes were going to drive me insane. I did slip off the high heels and slipped on my crocs instead.

I pulled out the steaks and forced myself to focus, this was going to be the hard part. I had portioned the steaks for the ladies smaller than I had the ones for the guys, since I knew how my guys could eat. The timing on this had to be perfect. I put the first round of steaks on the grill and glanced at my watch. I climbed up on the step ladder to pull down another pot. I set it on the stove, I was going to need it to heat the mashed potatoes. I took another glance at my watch and picked up my coffee mug and took a sip of my now long cold coffee. I set down my coffee and got back to preparing the rest of the steak and Lobster. While everything was on the grill I set to heating the mashed potatoes.

I listened at the door, and when I didn't hear the sounds of clinking silverware I figured they were done. I grabbed the bottle of wine from the counter, and slipped out of the kitchen. I gave the bottle of wine to Tank and cleared the salad plates. When I got back to the kitchen I stacked the plates on the counter, and went back to finishing off the main course.

I got everything plated, and picked up the plates. I made a face as I realized I wasn't going to be able to get these out in two trips. I made my way out to the dining room, and started serving. On my third trip around the table Tank reached up and grabbed my wrist. I leaned over a little to see if he needed anything. I felt myself blush when he told me I looked wonderful, and he thought I was doing an amazing job. I think I told him thanks before I hurried back into the kitchen before anyone could notice how red my face was.

I hurried to grab my cup of coffee. The hard part of tonight was over, I had a few minutes to relax. I had to laugh to myself when I heard one of the girls ask Steph for her caterers number. I hadn't thought about catering, maybe I could specialize in intimate romantic dinners. I was letting my mind wander and look over the possibilities of that when I heard Tank's voice.

"She's not a caterer, she's my girlfriend." I was so shocked I actually dropped my coffee cup. I cursed under my breath as it shattered on the tile floor. I quickly grabbed a roll of paper towels and knelt on the floor to mop up the mess. I couldn't believe he said I was his girlfriend. I loved the idea, but there was still so much up in the air. What was going to happen when the trial was over, would we even still be together. I just didn't know. I stood up after I finished gathering the pieces of my coffee cup and tossed them in the trash.

I mentally sighed as I heard the kitchen door open, I forced myself to take a deep breath before I could turn around and see Hal standing in the kitchen.

"Hey Hal, whats up? Is your steak ok?"

"I just wanted to make sure you didn't need any help. We heard something break." He told me.

I liked Hal, he was such a shy quiet guy. "I'm good, Go sit eat and try to relax Hal." I gave him a small smile as I walked over and turned him a round with a playful push out the door. "Shoo!"

Hal walked out the door and I turned to start putting batter on the cookie sheets. I decided this afternoon that a nice crunchy little cookie would go well with the ice cream. I thought I would make sure I had enough time to bake the cookies, I didn't want to rush dessert, but I didn't want there to be a long stretch of time between courses either. I opened the door to peek out, I wanted to estimate how much time I had.

I saw Tank turn to look at me when I opened the door. He held his hand out to me, so I walked over and grabbed his hand. When he stood up and pulled me to him I thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest. Then he lowered his lips to mine, and suddenly I couldn't think. I just placed my hands on his shoulders to steady myself as the rest of the world just faded away.

I came crashing back to reality when I heard Miss Cici talking. I pulled away, and I could feel the heat creeping up my face, and I knew I had to be about as red as those lobster I cooked earlier. "Wow. It's really warm in here I think we need ice cream. Who wants ice cream?" I didn't even wait for an answer before I made my escape to the kitchen.

I wanted to get everyone served and out of here as soon as politely possible. I turned off the oven. Fuck the cookies. It would take too long. I yanked open the freezer and started pulling out the iced glasses I had planned to use to serve dessert in.

I relaxed immediately when I felt Tank's arms wrap around me. I leaned back against him with a soft sigh. This just felt so good. So natural, I just closed my eyes and enjoyed the moment. I couldn't help but laugh when Tank repeated my earlier words on relaxing. He had a point though, I wasn't exactly zen tonight.

I finally convinced Tank he couldn't just go out there and tell everyone to go home. He reluctantly agreed, and returned to the dining room. I turned my attention back to getting the desserts ready. A small amount of blueberries went in the bottom of each glass, followed by a scoop of the berry ice cream and a sprinkling of granola for texture. I set down a large beverage tray on the counter and arranged the glasses carefully. I picked up the tray and made my way to the dining room. I served dessert with as much grace as I possibly could, and I had to smile when Steph moaned her way through the first few bites.

I leaned the tray against the wall and looked at each of the guys in turn. "Don't be afraid to eat it, it's made with yogurt and honey. No artificial flavors or sugar." I told them all with a smile. I knew they all had ridiculous self imposed dietary restrictions. I got cranky when I dieted, and I figured I could live a long time skinny and bitchy, or take the shorter time being fat and happy. I choose fat and happy. I bent down to pick up the tray that had slid down the wall to the floor. Just as I started to stand up I felt like someone the size of Tank had punched me in the shoulder. I wanted to scream, but I couldn't manage even that. My legs crumpled, and I didn't even remember hitting the floor.


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: Sorry for the mix up in the posts. I wasn't fully awake when I posted.

XXXXXX

As soon as I heard the shot jumped up so fast I knocked over my chair. Bobby was right behind me as we rushed to Angie's side.

Ranger was barking out orders. "Cal, Hal, get the women in the garage and call this into the office. Step, call 911. Lester you're with me."

I didn't have to look up to know his orders were being followed. I knew my mom would be safe with Cal and Hal, so I was free to focus on Angie.

Bobby rolled her over, and all I could see was the blood staining her dress. I couldn't see where she was hit, but evidently Bobby could.

"Angie? Angie can you hear me? I'm going to put pressure on your wound to stop the bleeding, and it's going to hurt." he told her while rubbing his knuckles on her breast bone trying to get a response. He took off his shirt and balled it up placing it up near her right shoulder and pressed down on it.

I could tell when he started to really apply pressure because Angie moaned softly. I grabbed her left hand and lightly stroked her hair. "It's ok baby. Bobby's taking good care of you, and an ambulance is on the way."

"Angie, can you talk to us? I need you to stay awake for me." Bobby told her making sure to talk fairly loudly.

"Steph… going to be…pissed." she finally said.

I couldn't help but chuckle a little at that and Angie rolled her head to look at me. "Good… needed to see… smile." she whispered.

"Ok honey, what ever you need right now you've got it." I told her.

"Even the coffee pot?"

That straight out made me laugh and Bobby looked at me questioningly, so I took a minute to explain. "When I was moving out of the apartment, that was the only thing we had a hard time agreeing on where it would go. Angie wanted it, but my coffee pot at the house had just died."

Bobby nodded with a slight smile. "If she's making jokes, she's got a good chance of being ok."

Angie tried to lift her hand to touch Bobby, luckily he noticed before she could get agitated. "Angie, you have to lay still for me ok?"

" Kay."

Angie stopped moving and just looked at me for a minute before she spoke again. "Cold."

That got Bobby's attention. "Get her a blanket. She's getting shocky."

"Pillow… legs." She told him.

I looked at Bobby for clarification. "She's reminding me to prop up her legs. It helps with shock."

I nodded and ran to grab the throw blanket and a couple of couch cushions. When I got close to them again I heard talking to Angie.

"Just what exactly do you read girl?" he asked.

I covered Angie with a blanket and slipped one of the cushions under her legs and watched her give Bobby a smile.

"books. Tell Lester… right. Time for Angie… to die."

I grabbed her hand tightly as I looked her in the eye. "No sweetie you aren't going to die."

"Not me… Angie." she said.

I looked at Bobby not understanding what she was saying.

"She's saying to go ahead with Lester's plan, and let everyone think she died." He told me.

"Yes."

I nodded. I would find a way to make that work. Ranger and Lester came back through the front door as I heard sirens closing in on the house.

"He got away clean." Ranger told me as he moved closer to the three of us.

Lester knelt beside Bobby. "How's she doing? The ambulance is almost here."

Angie tried to roll her eyes. I could tell she was finding it harder and harder to stay awake. "You've got to stay awake Ang. It lets me know you're still ok."

"Kay…" She started to close her eyes but forced them open again. I could see her lips moving, but I couldn't hear her, so I leaned over putting my ear close to her mouth.

I straightened up and stroked her hair again. "I'll tell him baby. You just worry about getting better first ok?"

"What did she say?" Ranger wanted to know.

Before I could answer him the paramedics came storming through the door and pushed all of us back so they could get to her. I just stood there numbly watching as they stuck IV's in her arms, and all sorts of monitors to her body. I could only sort of hear Bobby talking to the paramedics. It was if I wasn't completely aware of anything that was going on around me except how pale and small Angie looked laying there on the floor.

The paramedics rolled Angie on her side, so they could put her on a backboard and then they lifted her to the gurney. I reached out and grabbed her hand again. "You hang in there for me Angie. We'll see you at the hospital."

Ranger was once again giving orders. "Brown, you go with her. I'll take Tank and follow you. Lester. You bring Steph and Tank's mom. Tell Hal and Cal to take the other girls home." Ranger grabbed my arm and walked me to the door behind the paramedics.

Joe Morelli was coming up the sidewalk as we were walking out. Before he could open his mouth and say anything Ranger cut him off. "You can talk at the hospital. We're not staying here."

I watched Angie being loaded in the back of the ambulance, and Bobby climbed in behind her. I slid into the passenger seat of Ranger's Porche and just stared out the window. I couldn't imagine how Ranger managed to function when something happened to Bomber. I barely knew my own name.

Ranger seemed to realize that I was in my own little world, because he didn't say a word the entire way to the hospital. We pulled up just as the paramedics were unloading Angie from the ambulance. I got out of the car and Ranger was soon on my side. He grabbed my arm and turned me to face him.

"Lock it down Soldier!" he barked, and that snapped me out of the daze I was in.

I gave Ranger a nod and headed towards the emergency entrance. I was completely under control, but I still needed to be in there with her. We walked into the Emergency Room and were greeted by a nurse with a clipboard full of paperwork. I ignored the paperwork and stared down the nurse. "Where is she?"

"They are evaluating her now Sir… if you just fill out the paper work we should have more information when you are done."

Ranger led me to a chair and sat down next to me. I looked over at him and sighed softly. "She wanted to follow through with Lester's plan"

"Explain."

I quickly filled him in on the half formed plan to let everyone think she died. Ranger nodded, and just as I finished explaining Morelli walked in followed by Lester, Steph and my Mom.

My mom immediately sat at my side and grabbed my hand between hers. She was doing her best to silently comfort me while we waited for news. Stephanie sat down next to Ranger while Lester went to go find a nurse to flirt with for more information. Morelli stood in front of the four of us and crossed his arms over his chest staring at Steph.

"What did you get yourself into this time cupcake?" he asked her.

I wanted to just punch the shit out of that smug bastard. I must have made a move because Ranger put a hand on my shoulder, and my Mom's grip tightened on my hand. Ranger stood up and moved closer to Morelli.

"This had nothing to do with Steph. The woman who was shot tonight is a protected witness." Ranger told him quietly.

Morelli was once again all business. "WITSEC?"

"Not anymore."

"First attempt?"

"Third."

Morelli nodded and looked thoughtful. He really was a good cop, and easy to work with as long as Stephanie wasn't involved. "You got a plan?" he wanted to know.

Ranger nodded and kept his voice low in case anyone was trying to listen. "We think it's best if everyone thinks she didn't survive."

While Ranger and Morelli were talking the room was slowly filling up with more and more men from Rangeman. There was a sudden silence in the room, and I looked up to see Bobby walking towards us. Bobby made his way to stand in front of me.

"She's asking for you."

I stood up quickly but before I could go anywhere Bobby put his hand on my arm. "I've got to warn you, she looks worse than she is. She's pale, and she's receiving a blood transfusion, along with IV antibiotics, saline and she's been given pain killer. She's going to try to talk, just make her keep the oxygen mask on as much as possible."

I nodded my understanding, and shifted my weight from one foot to another. Bobby noticed my impatience, and gestured for me to follow behind him. We walked back into the room where Angie was, and it broke my heart to see her hooked up to all those tubes and wires. I made my way through her bedside and gently picked up her hand to hold it in my hand.

Angie rolled her head towards me and tried to reach up to take off her mask.

"You've got to keep that on Angie." I told her and she rolled her eyes.

"It makes me feel nauseous." She told me.

I looked to Bobby and he nodded his head. "That's normal. Nothing to worry about."

I nodded my thanks and turned my attention back to Angie. "Ranger is out in the waiting room right now talking with the cops. We're going to do better at keeping you safe I promise."

Angie squeezed my hand. "Not your fault. It happens."

I smiled and leaned over to kiss her forehead. "Listen to you… It happens. You act like this is perfectly normal."

Angie managed to smile. "I hear in Trenton it is normal."

I just shook my head and sighed. There was so much to say right now, but I didn't know how to start. How do you plan a future and make promises with so very much up in the air. I was just about to say something to her when Bobby stepped away from the door allowing a Catholic Priest to enter.

Angie rolled her head towards the door, and I could see some of the tension leaving her body as the Priest approached the bed.

"The hospital called and told me you had requested an Anointing of the sick." He said as he leaned over her bed a little.

When Angie nodded I watched the priest place a scarf around his neck and remove a bottle of oil from his pocket. He uncapped the bottle and placed some oil on his thumb before making the sign of the cross on her forehead.

"Through this holy anointing, may the Lord in his love and mercy help you with the grace of the Holy Spirit."

He put more oil on his thumb and made the sign of the cross on each of her hands, and gently placed his hand on her forehead. "May the Lord who frees you from sin save you and raise you up."

The priest then crossed himself and closed his eyes as if saying a silent prayer. Angie looked at me and grasped my hand before whispering. "Can you give us a minute?"

I nodded and kissed her cheek softly. "I'll go tell everyone how you're doing, but I'm leaving Bobby just outside the door. Ok?"

Angie nodded slowly before looking back at the Priest. "Father, will you hear my confession?"

The priest took the chair that I had just left, and as I walked to the door I could hear her whispering . "Forgive me Father for I have sinned…"

I stepped outside the door and told Bobby to stay close, and that I would be right back. I walked back into the waiting room and all eyes turned to me. I moved towards my Mom, Ranger and Steph. "She seems to be doing ok. She asked for a priest to come in for the anointing of the sick, I left when she asked him to hear her confession."

My eyes narrowed as Steph turned and whispered to Ranger. "Last rights?" Ranger nodded his head slowly as he looked me in the eye. I chose to ignore that I had over heard. As far as I was concerned, she was fine, and would continue to be.


	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: I am still making no money playing with the Characters of JE.

A/N: Thank you for your patience with me as I slowly get this story finished. This chapter was hard to write, and for some will be hard to read. Angie's religious beliefs come very strongly into play in this chapter.

Oh God, I hurt, you know how in movies, the hero gets shot and just keeps going? Movies lie! Getting shot hurts, it hurts like hell. I hated that I felt relieved when Tank left the room, but I was. It was exhausting trying to stay cheerful and strong, but I could see that he was barely keeping it together. I had caused him enough problems tonight; he didn't need my losing it to add to the stress. I turned my attention back to the Priest. I had asked him to stay and hear my confession, I didn't think I was going to die, but if I were honest with myself, confession was necessary. I took a deep breath and shifted a little on the bed biting my lip and tightly closing my eyes against the pain the movement caused. Those pain killers could kick in at any time now, and I wouldn't mind. Honest.

"Forgive me Father for I have sinned, my last confession was…" I had to stop and think about it. I knew I had gone to confession shortly before this whole mess started, but how long ago was that. I finally had to shake my head and admit defeat. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't remember."

The priest laid his hand gently on my arm. "That's quite alright." he told me as he took a seat in the chair next to the bed.

I started my confession with the easy stuff, the masses I had missed, the rude, and hateful things that had been said. I always wondered if every one always warmed up with the little things first, the things you knew were wrong, but you did any way because you couldn't help it. I knew I liked this priest, when he offered to call his bishop and see if he could arrange for a special dispensation, so I wouldn't have to feel guilty about any more missed masses. That brought a genuine smile to my face. I have Jewish friends who complain about guilt, but I think Catholic guilt takes the cake.

I wanted to just quit then, before I had to get into the really hard stuff, but I was always taught, that if you avoid the hard stuff, then there really is no point in confessing. I closed my eyes again and started to talk of how angry I was, and how sometimes I wanted to strike out at Mr. Dominic for the things that he had done.

"Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: Vengeance is mine; and I will repay sayeth the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he is thirsty give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." (Romans 12: 19-21)

"God give me strength" I whispered. I knew what my faith taught me to do, but letting go of all the hurt and anger was something I knew I couldn't do without help. The priest and I sat in silence for a few moments while I let the scripture wash over me, reminding me that while it may be natural to want to hurt Mr. Dominic for hurting me, it was not what I was called to do.

"Father, there is something else, there is a man." I confessed. I always hated this part, there was something awkward about discussing relationships with a man who was sworn to celibacy.

"I have become very close to him in spite of the fact that he is one of my protectors."

"Would this be the man who was with you when I came in?"

I nodded and he gestured for me to continue. "After the stabbing when I decided to take my chances here in Trenton, I ended up staying in his apartment in a secure building. He was staying there as well, while I recovered from my wounds. Our relationship became really comfortable, it wasn't a physical one, but an emotional thing. It got to be where I looked forward to making breakfast for him and his friends in the morning, and all day long, I would look forward to our talks over dinner. Just before my stitches were to come out, we decided that it was time for me to be on my own, and he moved out of the apartment and back to his house. He still came for breakfast, and we talked on the phone at night, but it just wasn't the same. It felt wrong somehow, like trying to tie my shoes with one hand." I sighed and closed my eyes, I didn't like to think about how my life had changed, or how my life was going to continue to change.

"Then perhaps it is time to pray about it, see if this is really the person God is leading you to be with. Perhaps you should talk to this man, if he is not feeling things the same way, wouldn't it be better to know now?"

I don't know when this confession turned into a counseling session too, but it felt as though this were the way the sacrament was meant to be received.

"Father, I don't know what he is going to expect from a relationship."

"Talk to him, tell him what you feel, but you must be clear with him about what your faith demands of you, and of him. Let him decide if it is something he can live with."

I nodded and sighed softly, I felt better, yet oddly drained as if this talk had taken everything I had left in me. I stared ahead, my mind completely blanking out my next move.

"Oh my God, I am heartily sorry…" He prompted me, and my brain finally clicked on what it was supposed to do. I finished the Act of Contrition. I used to get a lot of flak from my non Catholic friends about confession, but the truth was as soon as the priest spoke the words of absolution, I felt better. It was as if all the things I had talked about were truly gone for good.

I received communion feeling better than I had since this whole debacle started. I said my goodbyes to Father, and as soon as he left, Bobby came through the doors.

"Angie, you doing ok?" He asked as he took the recently vacated chair.

"Fine." I was too, now that my meds had kicked in, and that I had been able to finally get to confession. "When can I go home?"

Bobby laughed a little and lightly patted my uninjured arm. "You've got a while, in case you hadn't noticed, there is still a giant hole in your shoulder that they've got to patch up."

"How much longer?"

"I don't know. They have the bleeding stopped, you're stable, so my guess is right about now they are having a surgeon looking over your films, to see if you need surgery, and then we'll see."

Bobby and I both looked up as the door opened again. Bobby moved his hand towards his gun, but relaxed as he saw Ranger walking through the door. He stood up and met him halfway. I heard a whispered conversation, but I couldn't make out any words, so after a minute I gave up trying. Bobby gave Ranger a small nod and walked out of the door, and instead of taking up his post by the door he headed to the waiting room. Ranger walked over to me and leaned over looking at me. I hated his intense stare, it always made me feel like I was being measured against some unknown set of expectations and falling hopelessly short.

"I hear, you're going to live."

I sighed and nodded. "Seems like it, and it's not even touch and go, which makes putting a plan to have me die into action seem pretty pointless."

He just continued to stare at me for a long moment, and just when I was about ready to scream he leaned closer to me and began to tell me the plan.

I listened carefully, trying to get my part in all of this straight. I had to admit, it was a decent plan, even if I didn't care all that much for what my part in it was going to be. Ranger straightened, and took a step back from the bed.

"Can you do it?" he demanded.

"Yes."

"Good, give me five minutes from the time I leave here, then you start with your part." He didn't give me any further instructions, or ask any questions, one of the things about Ranger is that if you told him you could handle something, he took you at your word.

As soon as he left, I started the process of getting myself out of bed. It was agonizing, but I made it, the hard part was still to come. I found the sling exactly where Ranger said it would be, and I slipped it over my head. Following Ranger's advice, I stuffed a towel in my mouth to muffle my screams as I forced my useless arm into the sling. I had tried to not make a sound, but even with pain meds, moving my arm hurt more than getting shot. I wished I could have asked someone to help me, but this part had to look like it was all my idea.

I looked down and sitting right by the chair was a black duffle bag that had been dropped off at some point tonight. It took some doing, but I managed to get it open, and pulled out the items inside. I was trying to get off my hospital gown, but the tugging in my hand made me realize I hadn't taken out the IV yet. I gritted my teeth and pulled the needle from my skin. I let it drop to the floor, and the gown soon followed. I pulled a black Rangeman t-shirt over my head, not easy to do one handed, but I managed, and left my slinged arm tucked against my chest, only putting my good arm through the shirt. Putting on the pair of sweatpants was more challenging, and I kept glancing at the clock. I was running out of time, but more importantly, I was running out of strength. I finished getting dressed, and I slipped my feet into a pair of orange flip flops.

I was exhausted, and in more pain than I would have thought possible by the time I finished. I slowly made my way to the door, I wished for nothing more than a nurse with a wheelchair at this moment, but I had to keep going, the whole plan depended on me carrying off this part in particular.

I had to lean heavily against the wall as I slowly shuffled out to the ER waiting room. I forced myself to stand up as I approached the group of large men in black. Bobby broke off from the group and headed towards me.

"Don't touch me! Any of you… Just leave me the hell alone." I screamed. The look on the faces of the men who had become my friends broke my heart, I knew they were going along with it, but still… no one wants to see proof that you are hurting someone.

I guess my screaming brought the attention of a nurse, because soon there was one by my side grabbing my good arm. "You shouldn't be out of bed. C'mon, let's get you settled back in."

I pulled my arm away from her and shook my head. "I'm not going anywhere but out of here. I want AMA forms."

The nurse looked a little shell shocked, so I continued to speak, hoping to get some sort of response. "I would like to sign myself out now… please get the forms."

Ranger finally decided to give me a hand, and he snapped at the nurse to bring me what I needed. Tank came over and slowly helped me into one of the waiting room chairs.

"Angie, I think you are being unreasonable. At least let them stitch you up before you leave. You are putting yourself into danger, and I think you are asking a lot of Bobby to help care for you like this."

I took a deep breath and shook my head again. "Tank, I don't think you understand." I couldn't look him in the eye, Ranger said he wasn't going to tell Tank what was happening, so that his reactions would be real. "I'm not going back to Rangeman, I am going to get into a cab and I am going to a motel tonight, and tomorrow I am getting on a plane back to Texas. I'm done running, I'd rather not have to keep looking over my shoulder."

"Angie," He said as he grabbed my hand. "There is no need for all that. I think you're not really thinking clearly."

"I am thinking just fine thank you. I am done with all of this shit, mostly I am done with New Jersey. Now where the hell are my forms!"

I struggled to get out of the chair as the nurse came running back with a clipboard. "Ms. O'Connor, this is really a bad idea. You have an open wound, and you still need.."

"Just give me the forms." I cut her off sounding a little bitchier than I had hoped. "I know you think this is a bad idea, but let me tell you your choices, you can let me sign the form that absolves you of any liability once I walk out that door, or you refuse to let me sign them, I walk out anyway, and then my next of kin sues this hospital, and you in particular for incompetence if anything bad happens after I leave."

I thought she was going to argue, but she silently handed me the clipboard and walked off in a huff. I had to fill out the forms left handed, I'm not sure if they would be able to read a single thing I had written, but that was not my problem. Just as I finished filling out the forms, the nurse came back with a brown paper bag and put them in my lap. "The doctor had the pharmacy fill an antibiotic, and pain pills. He said he hoped you would reconsider, but if you don't then to please think about seeing him in his office first thing tomorrow."

I nodded and handed over the paperwork to her. "I'll think about it."

Before I could say anything else, I was being lifted by Bobby and placed into a wheel chair. Tank looked at me coldly. "Ranger called for a cab, it is waiting for you outside."

I looked up from my lap at him, and had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from crying. "Tank… I'm sorry."

He just gave me a curt nod as Bobby pushed me out the doors of the ambulance bay to the waiting cab. Bobby lifted me into the back seat and spoke quietly. "Hector's driving, he has everything you need. I'll see you in a few hours."

I just nodded and turned my head to look out the window as we pulled away from the hospital. Thankfully Hector didn't try to talk to me, he just drove me to a seedy motel on the edge of town. It was one of those Hotels where you almost felt compelled to do a dead hooker check. Hector carried me from the car into the motel room and set me on the bed. He then went back to the car to get my bag of pills, and anything else Ranger decided we were about to need.

Hector set the bags down on the bedside table, and dug out the pain pills. He opened the bottle and handed me two pills with a bottle of water. While I was swallowing my meds, he emptied all but one pill from the bottle, and set it on the table dropping the lid to the floor and letting it roll away. He then pulled out a bottle of Everclear 190 and set it on the table.

Hector left, and I sat staring at the bottle in front of me wondering if I would be able to handle this next part of the plan. I picked up the bottle of Everclear and held it gently in my hands. I had nothing to do but wait until the next part of the plan could be carried out.


End file.
